News Archive | The Press-Enterprise, January 3, 2001 Agency Gets Grant for Child-Care Center The Moreno Valley facility will include accommodations for special-needs and sick children. As many as 236 children soon could be cared for at a day-care facility on the grounds of Riverside County’s largest hospital. Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, was able to secure $230,000 in federal funding toward the construction of a $2.2 million child-care center on the grounds of Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley. “Riverside County is 56th out of 58 counties for providing day care” in California, said Carl Rowe, managing member of Integrated Care Communities, the nonprofit company that will build and run the center. “We were very careful to try and meet the unmet needs in the community.” The grant will help fund adaptive and special equipment for sick and special-needs children, including children with cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy or mental retardation. The child-care center also will feature a skid-free soft outdoor surface that will lessen the danger of a fall. The child-care center will be one of a group of Integrated Care Communities facilities planned for the hospital, including a day-care center for adults, a wellness center and an assisted-living facility for senior citizens. The projects will cost $16 million to $17 million altogether. The rest of the money will come mainly from tax-exempt bonds, Rowe said. The child-care center is expected to break ground this month and should be completed by the fall, said Phillip Saucedo, chief financial officer of Integrated Care Communities. Aside from mainstream child care, there will be six slots for sick children and 18 slots for special-needs children during each shift. The center will accept children on a first-come, first-served basis. The child-care center will be the first in the county to offer day care for sick and disabled children, Saucedo said. “W e really feel the need for sick and disabled care,” he said. The center will serve hundreds of children each day. The days will be broken into two shifts. Each shift will serve 188 children, from infants to 4-year-olds. Hours are tentatively scheduled from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saucedo said the center will serve the needs of many families. “Riverside County has a pretty high female work force,” he said. “The need for that (day care) is really there.” Another unique feature of the child-care center will be the children’s ability to interact with elderly-care patients. The children’s center will be next to the adult day-care health center, and youngsters and seniors will be able to interact in a communal area, Saucedo said. The center is expected to be named the Jan Peterson Child Day Care Center. Peterson has served as the county’s child-care coordinator. ICC was one of four agencies to receive a $230,000 grant. Return to News Archive Main Menu