Day-care centers Day-care centers in Hawaii had braced for heavy increases in business as the strike by the state's public school teachers stretched into the beginning of the workweek, but as of yesterday many centers were reporting only a moderate upswing.
still have room
More demand for their
By B.J. Reyes
services was expected
during the teachers strike
Star-Bulletin
"We knew Thursday and Friday weren't going to be that big because parents anticipated it and maybe took the day off," said Tina Desha, a coordinator for Kamaaina Kids day care at the Laniakea YWCA in Honolulu. "We thought it was going to be big this morning. We were expecting a line but there wasn't one."
Desha said she expected about 100 kids yesterday, but only about 70 were dropped off. To pass the time, Desha and the students took a field trip to HMC Karaoke in Pearlridge.
"I think a lot of parents have alternate care -- kids staying with the family -- or they took another day off of work," Desha said.
The strike by about 12,500 teachers has idled more than 180,000 public school students statewide.
Kamaaina Kids can accept about 2,000 kids statewide, including at its 17 sites on Oahu.
Sheryl Winterbottom, the office manager at Kamaaina Kids' main office, said so far there has not been any problem accommodating parents who need last-minute day care.
"We've been getting lots of calls from the public letting us know that if we need help they'll come help watch the kids, so it's been really nice public support," Winterbottom said. "If it keeps going on, we might need more staff, but right now we're doing OK."
Another day-care provider is the YMCA, which can handle about 1,500 kids at its programs islandwide.
At the YMCA in Mililani, family preschool Director Gidget Antone said the day-care center has averaged about 100 kids since the strikes began Thursday but did not experience a huge increase yesterday. Wendy Tupper, the child-care program director at the Windward YMCA, reported similar business.
"I think that a lot of parents have tried to find relatives or someone who can care for them," she said. "It's expensive for kids to have to come in."
The YMCA charges $20 a day at its branches and $30 a day at Camp Erdman on the North Shore. Kamaaina Kids charges $20 a day or $85 for five days paid in advance.
One provider keeping a close eye on the strike is Easter Seals of Hawaii, which provides care for special-needs children, including the severely disabled.
"We are having a lot more inquiries compared to normal," said Joruel Seatriz, the agency's youth service program manager.
Seatriz said that because of space limitations and current enrollment, his organization only has space for about 35 kids. Easter Seals is trying to contact other agencies about accommodating any overflow.
"Once we reach our enrollment capacity, what we're trying to do is become a referral source," Seatriz said. "We want to try to support our families and their children with special needs in any way that we can right now."
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