.MzMyOQ.MzMyOQ

Southside pr oposal - 1 I. PrearnbJ.e .. Thi s proposal fo r a nursery program of day car e and child development activitiP.s is submitt ed to t he Model Cities Program for consideration of its merits for fun ding under 1969 appropriation s . Southside Day Care As sociation has found it necessary to request emergency funding for thi s phase of its progr am because of three recent developments: 1. Southside has recently acqui red the use of the school building previously occupi ed by Pryor Str eet Elementary School. This facility i s not only mor e substanti al and more adequat e for an eff ecti ve day program, ; it . als o increases the c apacity of the c ent er from ni nety- one (91) to over 135 chi l dr en. 2. Wi t hi n we eks of Souths i de's move into its new fac ilities , t he funding agency of its program ini tiated pol i cies which 1) phas ed out all s ervi ces to chi ldren under two years of age, and _2) pr oportlonate l y reduc ed enrollment quotas of all delegate agenci es operati ng day care centers; Sout hs ide ' s quot a was cut fr om ninety - one (91 ) to eighty (80) c hi ldren. Thus , ins tead of being able t o expand its s ervi c es to needy f amilies , Souths i de has had t o r educ e the number of chi ldren to mor e than fi fty bel ow i ts capac i t y. J. I n the two months Souths i de has occupied its new loc ation, i t has had to refus e chi l d c ar e to more t han sixty children f rom families that qual i f y for its servic e~ under t he E. admis sion policies. o. Ao ~over ty gui delines that govern I n mos t ins tances , t hese were chi ldren of mot hers who were s e_eki ng c hild care in order to be able to ac cept jobs and ra.i.se thei r living standards above we lf a:re subs i s t ance l evels. �Southside proposal ~ 2 < The proposal outlined in this document will maximize the use of Southside Is facilities. The center will be able t 'o care for fifty-two additional children of mothers needing its services in order to work and improve the economic and pP-rsonal wellbeing of family. Tte salaries these: mothers earn .- even at minimum wage levels , will return over $100,000.00 into the economy of the inner-city. The public schools will be open shortly. · Surveys have shown that 80% of the absenteeism in the schools results from older children having to stay , home and care for the little ones while mother works. and nursery programs are presently operational. Southside's preschool The new openings for day care services this proposal makes possible would be available in a matter of weeks. This . proposa.Lfor ·. the· nurser y pr ogram at Southside, if funded, will make it possible for Southside to continue to ser ve the ne eds of mothers wi t h an infant as well as an ol der preschool child needing care; t hes e mothers-- the ones wi t h the most chi ldren-- are_ usually the ones who need day care the most. There is no other major .center offering quality day care services, -oper a ting ' or proposed, withi n mile s of Southside t hat off ers day care services to mothers of children from infants t o· school age. Wit hout funding, the se mothers will have no day care s ervices available that wil l release them. for gainful employment. In addition to re cently acquiring more suitable and spacious facilities, Souths ide has entered upon a joint venture of cooperat i on with the School of Education at Georgia State College for the purpos e of developing the center into an experimental laborator y for the College's students in early childhood education. The coupling of t he professional'resourc e s of a major school of education with Southside 1 s four year s of cont inuous experienc e in educa- �Southside proposal - J tional day care has important implications: ma.,jor research findings indicate that educational stimulation during early childhood is the most promising antidote to educational deprivation brought on by the conditions of poverty. Research also indicates the importance of continuing the nursery program at Southside as a part of this project; it suggests that more than 50%of the intellectual potentials of the adult is determined by the kinds of learning experiences he had before he was two years old. In view of the foregoing facts, the spons ors of Southside Child Develop~ ment Center suggest that no public funds expended can benefit so many, so directly, so quickly, or so meaningfully, as funds invested in its plans . for the· .nurser y program outlined ~ this proposal. No money spent at thi s time has any greater promise of finding answers to the burden of poverty today, and to its alleviation tomorrow. �