The YMCA took over operation of Covenant Christian Child Care Center yesterday, after the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare gave its blessing to the change after inspecting the facility on Monday, said YMCA CEO Phil Tipton. The daycare center, which will continue to operate in Covenant United Methodist Church at 364 N. Ninth St., is now called YMCA Northwest Child Care.
The change in operation closes the book on the December incident when the toddlers wandered away from the building and spent about 20 minutes on the lam. They were found, unharmed, by a neighbor, who contacted police.
After the department of welfare revoked its license in January, Covenant appealed and continued to operate the center until last Friday.
About three weeks ago, Tipton said, Covenant’s pastor, the Rev. Daniel Herner, contacted the Y to see if it would be interested in taking over operation of the center, which was struggling financially.
“We looked at it, and I brought it to the board, which felt that taking it over fell in line with the mission of the YMCA and would help the community,” said Tipton.
The transition was almost seamless, said Tipton. Covenant’s last day of operation was on Friday, so the 48 families who send their children there were inconvenienced for only one day. The daycare has room for 90 children and is seeking new clients, he said. For information, call the Y or the church, he said.
To help with the transition, an experienced Y child-care director has been working at the daycare for the past couple of weeks, Tipton said. Several of the Covenant staff were also retained, he said.