About

The Center was established in 1977 to meet a community need for quality childcare with a preschool component. CDCC has collaborated with and continues to maintain several community-based partnerships to fulfill this mission.

In conjunction with Head Start, CDCC was the first organization in Canton to provide a preschool program to promote Kindergarten readiness. In 2000, the Center began to formally address the need for quality infant and toddler care in the Canton community. In December 2002, the Center moved its school age and preschool programs together under one roof. In May 2004, we opened our very first toddler room, and in December 2006, we expanded again and started offering care to infants aged 6 weeks to 18 months old.

As of 2009, CDCC has been located at 205 State Street Road within the Maplewood campus of United Helpers. Our facility is bright, spacious, and secure, and was built with childcare in mind.

Our Philosophy

CDCC strives to provide a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment that allows children to grow, discover, and learn through a variety of age and developmentally appropriate experiences. We encourage development of the whole child through a positive, warm, and caring atmosphere. Our goal is to meet the unique social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs of each child. In their daily experiences with our staff, the children learn to make decisions, carry out responsibilities, express themselves creatively, and discover friendships. They are exposed to music, movement, art, science, reading, dramatic play, life skills, sensory experiences, and fine and gross motor play through themes that are planned around the interests of each group of children. A daily schedule helps provide a familiar flow to each day, and balances active and quiet play during both child-initiated and teacher-directed activities. We strive to achieve our childcare goals through the partnership of child, parent, school, community, and staff.

We believe that children have a right to a loving relationship with trained caregivers; to be offered the best possible environmental conditions and materials with which to explore and experiment; to see their culture and language valued; and to have their primary caregivers working in harmony with each other.

In keeping with our beliefs, our goals are:

• To provide a warm, safe, healthy and developmentally appropriate learning environment.
• To promote a feeling of personal well being and independence.
• To develop positive social interactions and communication skills with peers and adults.
• To encourage an awareness and acceptance of the differences in people and cultures.
• To develop and foster positive and productive safety and health habits.
• To work in partnership with each child’s family.

Our License

We are licensed by the New York State Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS), and we adhere to all aspects of regulatory requirements. These regulations include: admissions and records; staff qualifications and hiring procedures; professional development and training; child/staff ratios; child protection; curriculum and program development; discipline/behavior management; fire and safety; health and nutrition; security; and insurance coverage.

CDCC is a licensed Medication and Administration Training (MAT) certified center with First-Aid and CPR trained staff. Our trained staff may administer over-the-counter and prescription medications when they have written instructions from the prescribing physician and permission from the parents. Our Center is peanut- and tree nut-free, and staff are trained on how to recognize the symptoms of an allergic reaction. The staff knows the necessary precautions to take with children who have food and other allergies and are also accommodating to children with special needs.

Our Staff

CDCC believes that it takes a well-trained, dedicated, and caring childcare team to present and maintain a quality program for all of our children and the families it serves. The Board of Directors and the administrative staff take great care in the selection and supervision of staff. The Center follows the staff qualification guidelines set forth by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services Day Care Regulations. Exhaustive measures are used to determine the character of the persons considered for employment. An extensive interview with the Executive Director is followed by a criminal background check, a New York State Central Register Clearance for a history of child abuse and/or maltreatment, and three personal/professional reference checks.

Our Volunteers

The Center collaborates with several community organizations, colleges, and public school programs to provide a hands-on training ground for working with young children and their families. All volunteers and interns are subject to the same hiring procedures as paid staff members and are supervised and mentored by teachers and administrative staff. Volunteers and interns enrich and extend our program with their various backgrounds, training, personal “gifts,” and styles. The children benefit from the responsible young role models and the extra available hands, ears, and eyes. Volunteers and interns gain awareness and understanding of child development, parenting, and childcare issues.

Parent Involvement

We have an open door policy; parents and guardians are always welcome! We encourage parents to come into the classrooms to work with the teaching staff and share special skills, knowledge, and/or hobbies with the children.

Goals for our parents and guardians:

• To build a partnership with families.
• To support families in their parenting role.
• To support families in their role as primary educators of their child.
• To ensure that the cultures of the children’s families are reflected in our daily programming.

Each program provides a monthly newsletter that includes all the latest happenings, upcoming events, monthly themes, and reminders to keep our parents informed.

Fundraising

As CDCC is a not-for-profit center, outside funding and fundraising is an integral part of our budget. Many fundraising events are planned throughout the year – active participation by families is encouraged, appreciated, and always welcome!