Family Child Care

Community Teamwork, Inc.
167 Dutton St.
Lowell, MA 01852
(978) 459-0551

ADVANCED
Family Child Care Programs

CTI supports a system of 80 Family Child Care Providers, with 40 providers serving families in the Greater Lowell area and another 40 serving families in the Wakefield area (Wakefield, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Malden, Medford, Everett). .

All of CTI's Family Child Care homes provide a safe, supportive, and educationally enriching environment for young children. Parents can place their children in homes of providers who are trained and monitored by CTI staff and licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care. Children are also served meals and snacks that meet USDA standards. Family Child Care offers education and home-based care to groups of children of multiple ages, making this child care option ideal for families with siblings who can stay together at one location. Providers have CPR and First Aid Certification. Credentials of providers range from ongoing training in the field of early care and education, Child Development Associate Credential and National Association of Family Child Care Accreditation, college courses in Child Development, Curriculum Delivery, Health and Safety, Associates and Bachelors Degrees in the field of early care and education. Providers apply developmental screening on children and offer guidance to parents with referrals for services as needed. Children are given individual attention with development through curriculum delivery and lesson planning. Providers serving children receiving Head Start and Early Start services also complete child Outcome Measures, and Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. All providers partner with the parents of enrolled children to better meet the child and family needs.

Many Years Of Proven Experience

CTI Program Staff represent the following credentials: Family child care and center based direct service delivery, social service delivery, Child Development Associates Credential, National Association of Family Child Care Accreditation Training, Associates Degrees in Early Care and Education, and Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Education and Social Work. Also, prior parent and grandparent of the program.

ADVANCED Family Child Care program strengths:

Home based, small group setting with one caregiver fosters bonding.
Choosing a care setting for your child can be difficult, and the system is here to help families make that choice and we believe placement is a licensed home based setting is a good fit for young children.
The System monitored home base service delivery offers regular visits to the home, assists families with the enrollment process, supports providers with quality service delivery, actively refers children and families for additional services such as early intervention, special education, and the like. The system conducts health and safety inspections and USDA food/nutrition reviews.
We are a phone call away to support providers with emergency situations.
The small group setting of a licensed family child care home is well suited to young children because it feels more like home and a family. The single caregiver offers consistency, fulfilling the child’s need for:

Security/Nurturing/Emotional Connection/Individual Self-Worth…
“You Are Important”

The child experiences gradual exposure to developing social skills with the small group. When a child’s emotional needs are met, and social development is doing well, then cognitive growth will flourish.

ADVANCED Family Child Care Programs
Are Prepared To Bring Your Child from Infancy to Kindergarten

Licensed Family Child Care Providers interested in aligning with Community Teamwork, Inc. may contact Maureen Wallace, Director of Family Child Care Programs by calling 978-454-5100 ext. 175, e-mail: mwallace@comteam.org.

Family Child Care Provider benefits with the system are:

Professional guidance and support from system staff, as well as access to a wide range of expertise with associated staff (health, education, disabilities, mental health);
Monthly training with other providers that are free, meeting EEC licensing requirements relating to topics ranging from business, marketing, curriculum, lesson planning, individualizing for children, environmental planning, CPR and First Aid Certification, health and safety, child growth and development, behavioral management, use of child developmental screening tools, and more;
Annually, EEC sanctioned two full days of training with payment for agency enrolled children;
Payment for 11 holidays off for agency enrolled children;
Back-up care resource with other providers in the system;
Transportation services for children in need;
System staff handling of complete enrollment with new children and families to include accompanying family at provider placement interview;
Agency pays provider for service delivery, and collection of parent fees;
Agency hosts a USDA food program;
Agency offers a wide range of other services (Housing, WIC, Fuel Assistance, Elder Services and more);
System has affiliation with statewide early education and care advocacy group.