Overview | Therapeutic & Educational Services | Developmental Child Care | Academic Collaboration

This onsite Developmental Child Care Program is dedicated to providing comprehensive early intervention services for the at-risk children of the student mothers enrolled in the Pregnant and Parenting Teen Adolescent Program. Our Child Care Center is critical to BETA Center's abilities to provide the high level of support for mother and child, and healthy family functioning. Our team of well-trained early childhood teachers has a mission to provide the highest quality of care accompanied with a big heart. A developmentally-stimulating curriculum incorporates research-based activities to promote brain development and healthy growth. Click here for Building Baby's Brain Power book.

The Early Childhood teachers expertly work with each child at their individual stage of development. In addition to providing a nurturing environment, staff conducts regular health and weight assessments critical for intervention relating to failure to thrive and issues of neglect, immunizations and nutrition. Medical triage is provided by a nurse to address any urgent needs of the children. These caring professionals also model healthy parenting skills and capture "teachable moments" to support these new mothers as they work to apply what they have learned.

The infants and toddlers benefit from early detection screenings. The Ages & Stages Assessment, Denver Developmental Assessment and the NCAST Assessment are all used as a part of this program to ensure that each child is meeting their developmental milestones and to assist with parent-child attachment. Children are referred to the local hospital for more in-depth screening and subsequent interventions as needed.

Volunteer "cuddlers" contribute thousands of hours of assistance that enables the staff to provide even more one-on-one attention to the children. "Cuddling" by our group of dedicated volunteers provides the gentle touches and rocking that creates the physical experiences to make synapse connections as the babies' brains develop.

Our Developmental Child Care Center has been consistently recognized by Community Coordinated Care for Children, Inc. for the high caliber of care and is a licensed provider under the auspices of the Florida Department of Children & Families. The Center is licensed to serve children up to age 4, however the majority of children receiving care are from 4 weeks to 3 years old.