Special Alert:
ENROLLMENT is ongoing for all programs - Contact a Center near you today!
Friends of Crown Heights Educational Centers
Special Alert:
ENROLLMENT is ongoing for all programs - Contact a Center near you today!

Family Child Care Network (FCCN)

In partnership with the NYC Department of Education, The Friends of Crown Heights Educational Centers, Inc.(FOCH), operates an extensive Family Child Care Network delivering high-quality care and early education to children aged 6 weeks to 3 years old in more than 150 licensed provider homes throughout the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. With a contracted capacity of 1,000 children in these affiliated provider homes, our mixed-age Family Child Care programs are grounded in a holistic approach that ensures the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs of every child are met. Affiliated providers are supported with instructional resources, coaching and hands-on program monitoring by our expert professional staff. All Family Child Care Network (FCCN) Providers are licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), and regulated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH).

 

At FOCH, we believe that children learn best from active engagement in their environments and through meaningful interactions with peers and adults -- especially their parents and caregivers. We recognize that every child’s family, culture, and community play a vital role in their development. Accordingly, we work with providers to respect and value differences and promote a lifelong love of learning in a safe, positive and nurturing environment. We recognize and engage our families as equal partners, primary caregivers and advocates in their children’s development. Our FCCN educational specialists and monitoring teams work closely with affiliated providers to engage children in a variety of play based and developmentally appropriate learning experiences, and ensure that care and instruction are always based on children’s individual strengths, interests, and needs.

 

Family Child Care Curriculum:

All affiliated providers in our FOCH Family Child Care Network utilize the Let’s Play! Curriculum, which is specifically designed for mixed-age Family Child Care programs to support children’s development through responsive caregiving and play-based learning. Let’s Play! recognizes that learning happens throughout the day and is embedded in all aspects of the daily routine. Consequently, this curriculum offers suggestions for making the most of each day’s routines and transitions through conversations, songs and games. For our youngest children, warm, predictable caregiving routines serve as the foundation for building trusting relationships. Once children feel safe and secure, they can then engage more enthusiastically in the process of learning about the world around them.

Let’s Play! also guides providers on how to organize their homes to reflect an early childhood classroom setting, using various types of toys, games and other materials to establish Learning Centers. Children develop a variety of skills while engaging in the different centers, such as:

 

Center Name Skills
Block Area   Math, social skills, language skills, problem solving, and creative thinking
Dramatic Play   Creative thinking, social and emotional skills, language skills, social studies
Educational Toys 
& Games  
Problem solving, math skills, language, social and emotional skills.
Art and Writing    Fine motor skills, reading, creative thinking, aesthetic development
Library   Listening, language, reading and social skills
Science   Scientific process, evaluative skills, math, language development, problem solving and social skills
Sand & Water    Math and science skills, problem solving, creative thinking, language
Music / Movement   Physical development, math skills, social and emotional development
Cooking   Math and science skills, language and social skills
Computers   Fine motor skills, technology, reading and computer competence.

 

 

To become an Affiliated Child Care Provider with our network, or to enroll your child in one of our Family Child Care programs, contact us today by phone at (718) 638-8686.

 

The goals of our FOCH Family Child Care Network reflect our agency’s commitment to high-quality early childhood care and education services and are applicable across all settings, including both our center-based and family child-care programs. These goals are also aligned with the requirements and expectations enumerated in the DECE’s Early Childhood Framework for Quality (EFQ). Specifically, our Network and affiliated providers work collaboratively with families to:

 

  • Ensure that all children develop the necessary foundations for lifelong learning, self-confidence, creativity and social-emotional development;

 

  • Provide families with the resources and support they need to extend children’s learning and development in all domains and promote the family’s role as primary teachers in their children’s lives;

 

  • Establish family engagement linkages with other community-based organizations that will support the wellbeing and aspirations of our children and families. 

 

For any Family Child Care provider deciding whether to partner with us, it is important to know that our network prioritizes the recruitment of diverse, experienced and credentialed staff who mirror the culture and languages of the children and families we serve.  We also engage extensively with our communities through various partnership agreements that provide access to services such as health, nutrition and wellness programs, housing, employment and career counseling, Afterschool, adult education and ESOL classes.

 

Such skills include language and reading development, math skills, science skills, social studies knowledge, physical development, social and emotional competence.

 

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