Grant Helps Childcare Center Serve At-Risk Children with Free Services

December 8, 2004 — The Child and Family Network Centers (CFNC) and the Freddie Mac Foundation announced the grand opening of the newest CFNC site in the West End of Alexandria, Virginia. The site, made possible in part by a $450,000 grant from the Freddie Mac Foundation – $100,000 more than the original commitment – offers full day, nationally accredited preschool education and a range of social services.

Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va.

With this most recent Foundation grant, CFNC has expanded and now meets the needs of 204 children, representing a 47 percent increase in children served. This newest site at the West End of Alexandria near Landmark Mall, ensures that 64 children attend preschool and their families receive a range of important services offered by the center – at no charge. The additional $100,000 above the original $350,000 of funding is also intended to reduce the waiting list which currently has 100 families waiting for openings at the center. The grant will also enable CFNC to add new childcare slots in South Arlington in 2006.

CFNC, formerly the Alexandria Community Network Preschool, is a community-based, nonprofit organization started in 1984 by a group of mothers living in public housing whose children all failed kindergarten. CFNC's six nationally accredited preschools are located right in the neighborhoods where the families live. The program serves young, single mothers who need support in gaining parenting skills, as well as immigrants from Central and South America with limited English skills.

Specifically, CFNC preschools serve neighborhoods that have the highest concentration of families living in poverty in Alexandria. One hundred percent of CFNC students come from homes where the family income qualifies them for the USDA free lunch program, meaning they make less than 130 percent of the poverty level. The families served by CFNC often reflect generations of welfare dependency. CFNC also serves neighborhoods with the highest concentration of Latino families, whose average per capita income is $7,306 annually.

Foundation President and CEO Maxine B. Baker displays the Foundation's contribution to children at the CFNC.

In addition to filling a critical need for early childhood education, the center offers speech/language therapy, psychological assessments, occupational therapy, health care, dental, hearing and vision screenings. Bilingual social workers provide case management; parenting classes and other workshops; individual, group and family counseling. Parents are also hired as classroom assistants to help improve their parenting skills, as well as gain new career opportunities. CFNC’s Family Child Care and Job Training Programs provide technical assistance, training, and support to low-income women interested in careers in home childcare, elder care, and more.

The CFNC and Freddie Mac Foundation partnership spans over a decade, with Foundation investments totaling more than $1.5 million. The Freddie Mac Foundation focuses on strengthening families by preventing child abuse and neglect, helping find foster children adoptive homes, and developing youth by providing funds for non-profit organizations serving children and their families, including CFNC.

Read the press release.