CHILD-CARE SERVICES FOR INFANTS AT A PREMIUM; FEW DAY CARES IN THE COUNTY TAKE CHILDREN UNDER 2

A third infant-room opening Tuesday at Angels Aware child-care center will raise the number of babies the center is licensed to care for from eight to 12. But those spots were filled long before the room was finished.

"Some of those parents paid in advance as much as three months ago to get a spot," said Sue Long, director of Angels Aware. She said a day rarely goes by that she doesn't get at least one call inquiring about openings at the center for children under 2.

"Finding child care for children under 2 is difficult because there are so few day cares that will take infants," said Karen McDougall, a referral coordinator at Southeast Missouri Child Care Resource and Referral. The service keeps a database of child-care options in the area that are licensed by the state or meet certain criteria.

That number has been made even smaller with the March 10 closing of the Easter Seals Child Development Center. Easter Seals Missouri announced the closing last week, giving parents two weeks to find new child-care arrangements.

Parents of the 16 children under 2 who were enrolled at the center are having a difficult time finding other arrangements, said Cheryl Beahan, the center's director. She said parents of three infants and five toddlers still have not found other arrangements.

Of the 49 child-care providers listed in the database of Southeast Missouri Child Care Resource and Referral, four child-care centers and 15 family providers are licensed to care for children birth through age 2, McDougall said. She said not all the family providers licensed to care for those ages actually provide care for infants.

Long said many day cares don't offer infant care because of the expense involved. While providers generally charge more to care for an infant -- at local day-care centers the charge is in the $100- to $130-per-week range -- the teacher-to-child ratio required for infants makes it less profitable.

In state licensed child-care centers, the ratio of teachers to children required is 4 to 1 for children birth to 2 years, 8 to 1 for age 2, and 10 to 1 for ages 3 to 5.

Little Rascals child-care center is licensed for up to eight children under age 2 and now has two openings. But center owner and director Sue Bippen said openings are rare.

She said the mistake many parents make in seeking care for infants is waiting until the last minute to start looking.

"I've had parents call on Friday and want to bring their child in on Monday," Bippen said. "But even if we have an opening there are forms to fill out, and I make them come out and look over the center."

She said often parents seeking infant care will encounter waiting lists.

Susan Selsor, owner of Watch Me Grow center in Jackson, said the waiting list there usually has 20 to 25 names on it.

"I haven't had an opening in infant for any length of time since I opened in November of '97," Selsor said.

The center has one infant room with room for four babies.

"If I went up to eight, I would have to build a separate room, and it's just too costly for me to expand," Selsor said.

Long said the new room for babies at Angels Aware is part of the outreach approach of the center, which is run by First Church of the Nazarene.

"We felt this was a community need we could provide," she said.

Southeast Missouri Child Care Resource and Referral can be reached at 651-5118