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By Ashley Mangin
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs volunteer

Little Rock AFB needs more FCC providers.

The Family Child Care Program is a program designed to augment the care given to children at the Child Development Center.

“If you love children, [being an FCC provider] allows you to work with children in your own home while spending time with your own children as well,” said Jacque Johannes, 19th Force Support Squadron family child care coordinator.

“We also give our providers the opportunity to work toward accreditation or their Child Development Associate’s Degree,” Ms. Johannes continued.

While providing the same outstanding quality of care, there are some distinct differences in the style of care provided.

“The ratios are definitely smaller,” said Ms. Johannes. “Some children benefit from smaller groups.

“There are also different age groups together,” Ms. Johannes added. “I think that makes it a more home-like environment.”

There are some other benefits to using a home-based child care provider.

“More one-on-one care is a big thing,” Ms. Johannes said. “There is also a flexibility of the hours of care. Sometimes parents have a day when they have to drop-off early or pick-up late, and our providers can accommodate that.”

Little Rock Air Force Base’s FCC Program has nine active providers currently providing approximately 5,000 hours of care per week including 500 hours of care through special programs.

“We offer a variety of programs through our expanded childcare program that are paid for by the Air Force,” said Ms. Johannes.

“We have extended duty care for those who work outside their normal duty hours and have no other options for care, we have returning home care for members coming home from a deployment, and home community care for people who don’t live on base but have to stay for a drill weekend or some other work related event.

“We also have two wonderful programs that we offer in conjunction with the Airman and Family Readiness Center: PCS care for before and after a PCS and the volunteer program where we offer up to 20 hours per week of childcare for anyone interested in volunteering on base.”

Potential providers must have a love of children, a desire to work with children and good communication skills. Becoming a provider is a big decision that should be discussed with the whole family, but is a rewarding experience.

“I love being able to watch the kids grow and develop into the people they are meant to be,” said Malissa Kaye, family child care provider. “I was looking for care and I couldn’t find any that was the quality that I was looking for. I thought, if I was looking then other people were too.”

The FCC office tries to ease some of the burden of starting a new business.

“All of our providers go through extensive training before they are licensed,” said Ms. Johannes. “We try to update their training throughout the year as well. We also have a lot of base agencies available to help our providers with any problems they might have. We even have toys and equipment, safety and health items and various supplies so they don’t have to spend a lot at first.”

Anyone providing more than 10 hours of childcare per week on base on a regular basis is required to be licensed by FCC.

Anyone interested in becoming a family child care provider and enriching the lives of Little Rock AFB’s little Combat Airlifters should contact Jacque Johannes at the Family Child Care Office at 987-3156.