PROVIDER APPRECIATION DAY 
 May 1, 2009

     LINK CCR &R celebrated Provider Appreciation Day on May 1, 2009.   Provider Appreciation Day is a special day to recognize child care providers, teachers, school-age program staff, child care center directors and staff, and all of those who work with children in a variety of ways and are responsible for their education and care.  Providers that brought their payment forms into the Huntington office on May 1, 2009, were provided  with a snack and a small gift of appreciation .

Chad Pennington's visit to Enterprise Child Development Center April 3, 2009
(Click here for more pics)
 

    
River Valley's mission is to be a leader in providing high quality early childhood care and education services for children, families, and communities.

Our commitment is:

• Safe, nurturing, and inclusive learning environments

• High standards of professionalism and practice

• Resources, support and opportunities

River Valley Child Development Services was established in 1971 as the Region III Early Childhood Demonstration Center, a component of a statewide system of regional early childhood centers.  The purpose of the regional early childhood center was to demonstrate appropriate programs for preschool systems.  In Region III, centers were set up in Cabell, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason and Wayne counties the first six months.
As counties began operating their own kindergartens, the agency began branching out into other service areas. 

The name of the agency was changed to River Valley Child Development Services in 1990. 

In 1998, the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, in collaboration with the National Associate for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), established the Program Recognition Project. Growing out of work by NAEYC’s Program panel on Quality, Compensation, and Affordability, the project selected River Valley Child Development Services as one of ten “Exemplary Programs” chosen nationwide. 

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WHY HIGH QUALITY CHILD CARE??

Research has proven that 90% of all brain development happens in the first three years of life, providing an unprecedented window of opportunity to shape the capacity of our state's future citizenry.

It is a classic case of pay now or pay  later. Children enrolled in quality early childhood programs are more likely to graduate from high school, complete college, stay at a good job, buy a home and raise a healthy family.

Children without these opportunities however are more likely to require expensive remedial education programs, drop out of school, rely on social services and have less productive futures. This results in an increased burden on all West Virginia taxpayers and continues to strain the resources of our small state.

An early learning investment has been documented to save $7 for every $1 that society spends. Yet, less than a third of West Virginia's children benefit from early care and education. And, for the children who do attend these programs, a quality environment is not guaranteed.

 

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State to receive $13 million for child care and $5 million for Head Start.
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   For more information email:
Suzi Brodof (Executive Director) sbrodof@rvcds.org

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