Disaster Child Care releases 2005 figures, announces trainings.

Disaster Child Care (DCC) coordinator Helen Stonesifer has release year-end figures for the program, which is part of the Church of the Brethren General Board's Emergency Response/Service Ministries. DCC trains volunteers to set up special child care centers in disaster locations to care for young children that have been affected by disaster.

The 2005 statistics "are quite impressive," Stonesifer said, reporting that 148 volunteers served 1,372 days in 20 childcare centers, making 3,152 childcare contacts in the aftermath of four natural and human-caused disasters. "The value of this donated care is estimated at $192,628.80," she said.

In 2005, a total of 162 people were trained at 10 Level I Disaster Child Care Training Workshops held in Benton, Ark.; Victor, N.Y.; Paw Paw, Mich.; Roanoke, Va.; La Verne, Calif.; Mount Morris, Ill.; Norfolk, Neb.; Brook Park, Ohio; Sodus, N.Y.; and Farmington, Del. "Pending certification, these trainees will become a part of the DCC volunteer network that provides love, comfort, and support to children affected by disaster," Stonesifer said.

Several more Level I Disaster Child Care Training Workshops will be offered in 2006. "Please encourage persons to attend whom you know are interested in being a part of this ministry to children," Stonesifer said. Cost for each workshop is $45; $55 if less than three weeks prior to workshop; current volunteers may attend for $25.

Level 1 Volunteer Training Workshops are planned for Feb. 17-18 at Beaverton (Mich.) Church of the Brethren; Feb. 25-26 at LaMesa (Calif.) Seventh-Day Adventist Church; March 3-4 at Modesto (Calif.) Church of the Brethren; March 10-11 at Montezuma Church of the Brethren in Dayton, Va.; March 17-18 at Indian Creek Church of the Brethren in Harleysville, Pa.; and April 28-29 at Deer Park United Methodist Church in Westminster, Md.

To register and for information about Level I Disaster Child Care Training Workshops, see www.disasterchildcare.org. For copies of the workshop brochure and registration form, call Diane Gosnell at 800-451-4407.

DCC volunteers who received training more than five years ago also are encouraged to participate in a training workshop "to brush up on your skills," Stonesifer said. "Several procedures and policies have recently changed and we want you to know about them."

Among changes for volunteers is a request for a head-and-shoulders photograph, required for picture identification badges, as well as a criminal background check as part of the volunteer certification process. All certified child care volunteers who were trained prior to 2000 are now being requested to send in a photograph and to obtain a criminal background check. Volunteers who already have a criminal background check on file in the DCC office may disregard this request. A criminal background check form can be downloaded from the DCC website at www.disasterchildcare.org or call Diane Gosnell at 800-451-4407 ext. 3.

Source: 2/1/2006 Newsline
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