Afterschool Programs Address Children and Teens’ Social and Academic Needs

Registration for before and after school childcare, Y-CARE, at the Portage Township YMCA opens Monday, July 11, 2011

As children and teens return to school, the Portage Township YMCA encourages parents looking for safe, secure childcare, to take advantage of the Y’s before and after school program, Y-CARE. Combining play with academics and service learning projects, the Portage Township YMCA Y-Care program is a safe, secure and affordable.

According to the Afterschool Alliance, 15.1 million children in the United States are left unsupervised after 3 p.m. In Indiana, 30% (332,642) of K-12 youth are responsible for taking care of themselves after school.

The Y offers before and after school care (Y-Care) for children in grades 1 thru 8 enrolled in one of the six Portage Township Elementary Schools that are located in Portage, Nativity and Portage Christian. The program provides guided, structured and educational activities in a safe and secure, fun environment with low child to staff ratio. Children can be dropped off before school as early as 6:30 a.m. and picked up after school as late as 6:00 p.m. Y-Care is held at Aylesworth (serving Aylesworth, Willowcreek and Central, Myers, Nativity, Fegely and Portage Christian) and Jones (serving Jones, Crisman and Kyle). Y-Care can be used with K-Care to meet the needs of Kindergartners. K-Care is designed to care for Kindergarten students during the school day hours they are not in class and it is held at the Portage Township YMCA. Program fees vary according to hours of usage.

As one of the leading providers of school age child care, the nation’s Ys have been engaging children in these types of programs for more than 50 years. Today, Ys impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of youth in afterschool programs at nearly 10,000 sites across the country. Afterschool programming at the Y focuses on the holistic development of youth, promoting creativity, a love for learning, academic success and friendship and character building. Financial assistance is available to those in need, to ensure every child and teen has the opportunity to learn and grow at the Y.

For more information regarding this program please contact Amber Morris, School Age Child Care Coordinator at 219-762-YMCA(9622) or at amber@ymcaofportage.org. Additional Portage Township YMCA information is available at- www.ymcaofportage.org.