General

What is Children & Nutrition Services?

 Children and Nutrition Services is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed and incorporated in 1985 to sponsor the food program for Wyoming home-based child care providers. In 1996, Child Care Finder, Wyoming’s child care resource and referral service was added. The mission of Children and Nutrition Services is: “Children and Nutrition Services Inc, is a non-profit Wyoming agency organized to provide, promote and support programs and activities that improve the well-being of young children.”

 Children and Nutrition Services is governed by a nine-member board of directors and employs twenty-five staff located throughout Wyoming. The food program sponsorship is funded by the US Department of Agriculture through the Wyoming Department of Education. Child Care Finder is funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services through the Wyoming Department of Family Services. Children and Nutrition Services also provides specialized child care resource and referral services for the F E Warren Air Force Base through a contract with the US Department of Defense. Other programs are supported by grants, fees for services and fundraising efforts.

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What is the CACFP Food Program?

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a US Department of Agriculture nutrition program that is sponsored by the Wyoming Department of Education. The CACFP is designed to assist child care facilities in providing nutritious meals and snacks to the children in their care. For more information contact the Wyoming Department of Education, Health & Safety Unit.

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What is Child Care Resource and Referral?
Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) provides services to support families to nurture children and be self-sufficient, to support child care providers to enhance the availability and quality of child care, and to support communities to develop child care systems. Specifically, CCR&R’s help parents find child care to meet their needs and provide information to parents about child care licensing, the importance of high-quality child care, and information about early care issues. CCR&R’s support child care professionals with training opportunities to meet licensing requirements and business development for child care programs. CCR&R’s also gather information about the child care industry and family needs. Working with community partners and businesses CCR&R makes the case for high quality child care. For more information visit the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) website.

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How to Contact Us

Children and Nutrition Services offices are conveniently located throughout the state with corporate offices in Casper. Click here to see a listing of all locations with contact information.

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Why Choose Licensed Care

Child care licensing establishes a minimum safety level for child care programs. While it is not a guarantee of high quality, parents choosing licensed care can be assured that the program is visited regularly by a licenser and that their child is in an environment meeting certain safety standards. Rodger McDaniel, Director of the Wyoming Department of Family Services thinks licensed child care makes a difference. Click here (PDF) to read his comments about licensed child care. 

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What are my Child Care Options?

In Wyoming parents have many legal child care options. Not all care is licensed in Wyoming, so choose carefully. The options are:

Family Child Care Homes/Centers Care offered in the home of the provider (can be out of home) and often a parent. Family Child Care Homes are licensed by the State.

Child Care Centers  A facility that provides care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and/or school-age children all or part of the day. Child Care Centers are licensed by the State.

Exempt Home Care Providers Care provided in the caregiver’s home for one or two children or one family besides the care providers own children. Wyoming has no licensing for these providers.

In-home Care A friend, relative,  babysitter, or nanny cares for the child in your home, full time or part time. Wyoming has no licensing for these providers.

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How do I Find Child Care in Wyoming?

There are several ways to locate child care in Wyoming. The easiest way to search for child care is to contact the Child Care Finder office in your area. Child Care Finder, Wyoming’s child care resource and referral service will match information about your child care needs with licensed child care programs. Click here to find the location nearest you. You may also search for licensed child care on-line by visiting our free on-line service by clicking HERE and following the instructions. Other methods for locating care include: asking friend and family about who cares for their children, newspaper advertisements, and the telephone directory business pages.

Step 1: Get Organized
Step 2: Conduct a Telephone Interview
Step 3: Make a Visit
Step 4: Check References
Step 5: Make a Decision

In Wyoming, the Department of Family Services regulates child care licensing. Licensing rules are designed to establish minimum health and safety standards for the child care facility, including fire, sanitation, building codes, number of children per caregiver, and other practices. The licensing process takes about 60 days. Visit the DFS site to view the licensing process.

The Department of Family Services administers and regulates the certification of child care programs. To view the Wyoming requirements, visit the rules here.

Where Can I Find approved training for child care professionals?
Visit our training calendar on-line to see currently approved professional development opportunities. The trainings are updated weekly and are organized by region of the state and by required competency

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Children and Nutrition Services, through the Child Care Finder program assists parents in locating licensed child care for their children. Child Care Finder is happy to provide specialized child care resource and referral services for businesses. Contact the department of Provider Business/Professional Development for more information. Contact proccf@wyoming.com for more information.   

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When did business start providing support for families?

Historically, employers have supported families and child care during wartime. Employers first became involved in child care during the Civil War so that women could help in the war effort. For the same reason, child care centers proliferated during World War I and World War II (then with government assistance). In World War II, employers realized that the needs of "Rosie the Riveter" went beyond child care, and they allowed women to bring their laundry to the work site for someone else to do, and to take home a hot dinner for the family. Not until a half century later did these supports resurface.

After World War II, employer-provided family supports virtually disappeared until the 1960s, when corporate social responsibility prompted some employers to fund local child care programs. In 1968, the Stride Rite shoe manufacturer opened a child care center in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to ease racial tensions in the community. Such pioneering efforts and campaigns by government and community leaders to educate employers about the need for family support achieved little during the 1970s and 1980s, however. Widespread implementation of employer programs did not occur until the late 1980s, when a shrinking labor pool forced companies to compete for talent.  Employers then continued to introduce initiatives to help working families, even during the recession of the early 1990s when family-friendly policies proved to be a helpful antidote to morale problems resulting from massive downsizing. Such policies were also effective in motivating those who kept their jobs but were asked to work harder in a lean and mean environment.

Recruitment and retention remain the primary motivations for employers to address their employees' family and personal needs. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the U.S. labor force is growing less than 1% annually, and the number of available workers between ages 25 and 44 will shrink between now and 2006. The need for qualified people is forcing companies to rethink their recruitment efforts, productivity incentives, benefit plans, work schedules, and work processes, since these policies were designed for a different generation of workers with different lifestyles and working conditions.

(excerpts from The Future of Children, Caring for Children Journal, Article: Employer Support for Parents with Young Children. Click here to access complete article: http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2826/information_show.htm?doc_id=79361)