Operation Child Care in CamCo

Dozens of child-care providers throughout Camden County have agreed to participate in a nationwide program designed to support U.S. military members on leave from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Camden County Freeholders have announced.

Called Operation Child Care, the program offers a few hours of free child care to National Guard and Reserve soldiers returning home for two weeks of rest and recuperation leave. This free child-care support will allow military members who do not have access to a military installation to be able to take care of family business or take their spouses out for a date. Children ages newborn to 13 will be accepted.

Spearheading the program is the National Association of Childcare Resource and Referral Agencies, of Washington, D.C. Its goal is to arrange for short-term donated child care for members of the National Guard and Reserve. These units are not served by the traditional military's child and youth programs.

All of the participating child-care providers in Camden County are regulated, registered or certified centers, and all have donated their services at the county's request.

"The response among our local child-care providers has been wonderful," said Freeholder Laurelle Cummings, liaison to the Camden County Division for Children, which oversees the local project. "They are more than happy to donate their services to our military families, and we in county government are just as happy to be able to assist those families, especially during a time when their home visits are brief and their schedules are tight," Cummings said.

To arrange for child-care service under Operation Child Care, or to learn more about the program, call the Camden County Division for Children, at (856) 566-7228.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: Press Release