Jennifer Williams leads preschool kids in a play⁄learning activity at the NSF Anacostia Child Development Center. The CDC has infant, pre-toddler, toddler and preschool programs to care for children of military parents.
Servicemembers and Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employees go to work every day knowing their children ages six weeks to 5 are given the best of care at the Child Development Center (CDC) on Naval Support Facility Anacostia.
The CDC has infant, pretoddler, toddler and preschool programs, which enhance the cognitive, physical, emotional, social needs, interests and developmental levels of each child.
‘The children hopefully equate learning with fun and choices,” said Linda Tully, director of the facility.
Tully said the eligibility requirement for children is based on the military status of their parents. The highest priority is first given to single servicemembers and dual military couples, followed by servicemembers with a working spouse, servicemembers with a spouse seeking employment or attending school and DOD civilian employees.
Priority placement at the CDC is also based on the date people are placed on a waiting list, she said.
‘‘We have spaces filled now for 40 infants, 50 pretoddlers, 56 toddlers and 72 preschoolers,” she said. ‘‘In the near future, we plan to add eight more spaces for infants, 10 more spaces for pretoddlers, 14 more spaces for toddlers and 24 more spaces for preschoolers.”
The 58-member staff is required to complete Navy standardized training within the first two years of employment. The employees are also encouraged to take college courses toward an Associate of Arts or Bachelor of Arts degree in child development and⁄or obtain the Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate, a national credentialing program the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition in Washington, D.C., administers.
The training is monitored through inspections and the use of digital cameras in the classrooms.
The kitchen employees are inspected under the United States Agriculture Department, which guides and monitors the CDC’s menu. They maintain meals for 30 documented food allergies. Two meals are provided for the children daily. There is also a snack for children staying at the center after 5 p.m.
The cost for child care depends on the age group and parent’s income, said Tully. Parents pay between $60 and $126 a month.
All DoD CDCs must be accredited by the National Association for the Education of the Young Child, a national accrediting agency, and meet the standards under the Military Child Care Act of 1989.
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