Child Care
In Baltimore, the lack of access to affordable, quality child care has created child care deserts, communities with too few child care slots to meet need, or no licensed providers at all.
West Baltimore’s Poppleton is one of those neighborhoods. With no public child care options for infants and toddlers, private programs are an only—and unaffordable—option. According to the Maryland Family Network, child care in Baltimore costs, on average, $9,276-$9,752/year for infants and toddlers, nearly half Poppleton’s $20,365 median household income. And even for families who can afford that, there aren’t enough slots. According to the Center for American Progress, Poppleton has just one licensed child care slot for every 3.2 children and it’s bordered by two other child care deserts: one with a slot for every 14.9 children under the age of 5, and one with 255 children and no licensed providers at all.
In Fall 2020, the United Way opened the new United Way Family Center at Excel Academy to provide free, quality child care for the infants and toddlers (6 weeks-2 years) of Excel students, allowing them to both stay in school and graduate and give their babies the foundation they need to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
The new child care center at Excel provides a much-needed resource for the Poppleton community—and another child care desert: Baltimore’s high school-age parents. The new center brings the total number of free onsite child care at high schools in the city to two, and is modeled after the only other one at Benjamin Franklin High School, also a United Way program. Learn more about this solution to Baltimore’s care deserts on the United Way Facebook page here. And thank you to the United Way and Excel communities for showing us what is possible.
The Child Care Scholarship provides financial assistance with child care costs to eligible working families in Maryland.
To be eligible for the Child Care Scholarship, a parents/guardian must be:
A Maryland resident who is working/employed in an approved training program or attending school; for families where both parents live within the same household, both parents must meet all eligibility requirements
A recipient of Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI)—or within the income guidelines below
Willing to have their child immunized to Maryland state standards or provide documentation supporting Exemption from Immunization
Pursuing child support, if both parents do not live within the same household
Willing to provide proof that each child needing child care is a citizen of the United States or a qualified alien (Provide a Birth Certificate for each child or documentation that certifies the child's status) NOTE: Parents ARE NOT required to be citizens of the United States
Willing to provide proof of identity for all members within the household composition—can be any form of a government issued document; the birth certificate or immigration status documentation can serve as proof of identity for each child in the household composition
Willing to provide a Photo I.D. (only required of the head of household)
An individual who is younger than 13 years old who does not have a disability or an individual younger than 19 years old who does have a disability
Application
To apply, a parent/guardian must submit the following:
Verification of work/training activity and income
For all household members:
o Most recent four (4) weeks of consecutive pay stubs
o Proof of identity (i.e. driver’s license, birth certificate, government-issued identification, etc.)
o Proof of approved activity (i.e. work, school or job training)
o Proof of all other income
o Proof of child support cooperation or payment
o Proof of address (i.e. utility bill, lease, etc.)
Find more information here.
Income Eligibility Guidelines
Maryland Child Care Scholarship Program
The Maryland Child Care Scholarship Program provides assistance with child care costs for eligible families. Find more information and application here.
Sesame Street Community Resources
The Sesame Street Communities Initiative is partnering with our very own Family League of Baltimore to provide a library of videos, activity pages and other resources for parents and children to address trauma and build resiliency. Details here.
Maryland Family Network's Child Care Locator Service
Get help finding quality child care through this Maryland Family Network service—online or by calling 877-261-0060 weekdays, 8:30am-4pm.
B’more for Healthy Babies
A partnership between the Baltimore City Health Department, Family League and HealthCare Access Maryland, this website offers families parenting tips and resources to track developmental milestones.
Family Tree’s Research-Based Parenting Classes
The Family Tree offers free programs for families to strengthen parenting skills, improve child behavior and navigate a range of parenting challenges. Details here.
Pratt Library’s Resources for Young Children
All Enoch Pratt Free Library branches have books and games, and story time and arts-and-crafts activities for children under 5. Explore here.
Baltimore City Head Start provides early childhood and family development services for low-income children (ages 3-5) and families in Baltimore City.
Head Start services are federally funded and free for families who meet income requirements or qualify for public assistance. Enrollment is prioritized for families with the greatest need and for children with disabilities and/or those living in foster care or experiencing homelessness.
Learn about our Program Areas and Volunteer Opportunities. Or download a printable flyer.
Apply and learn more about Baltimore City Head Start here.
Klause Ferrell was 14 when he was kicked out of his house by his abusive father. At the time, he says, he “took the opportunity that he gave me and shoved off.
“I assumed I could take on the world without assistance. I didn't need help, I didn't need anyone, so I slept outside at playgrounds and in the woods. I did that for 10 years.”
During those 10 years, Klause finished both high school and college and moved from North Carolina to Baltimore. And in 2015, he became father to his daughter Lasaura, which came with a whole new set of life challenges, he says—and a chance for a life reset.
“It was hard enough for me to find resources for myself, to be able to take care of myself—that was enough of a stress on an everyday basis. But having to look at myself in the capacity of being a provider and father, I knew that I had to go beyond more than just myself. So that's what started my journey into looking for assistance and resources for me to be able to better myself, and also to be able to provide for my child at the very same time.”
—
Klause’s journey started with securing stable housing through St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center and participating in HeARTworks, the workforce development arm of Art With A Heart for youth ages 14-24. Through HeARTworks, Klause created marketable art to sell in Art with a Heart’s social enterprise and retail store, HeARTwares; received a daily stipend; set personal goals and future plans; and learned the flow of a professional workplace.
“I always knew that I could be better. I always knew that there was more for me than experiencing what I was experiencing every day. After getting out of the situation with my father and putting myself through high school, putting myself into college, there's nothing I can't do. I literally crawled out of the mud and got on a bus: I can do it.”
And along the way, Klause got full custody of his daughter.
“So that was my first time being able to take the full responsibility of being a father and having my child to myself. That was a challenge that I wanted to endure, because I wanted that experience with my child. Because before it was always dad’s coming for the day or dad’s coming for a few hours and then I’ve got to go back out in the streets or I’ve got to go back and do this I got to go back and do that to make money. I had to do a lot of different things in order to make money.”
—
Today, Klause works fulltime as a member of the Art With A Heart team in the HeARTwares store. Earlier this month he reflected on what the training and employment opportunity at Art With A Heart have meant to him with a first-person article on their website. Read it here.
He also reflects a lot on being a father to Lasaura, who is 5 years old and readying to start school in September.
“This is my very first child and being a father was something I've always wanted to embrace because that's something that was negligent of me receiving, so I want to be able to provide it to someone else. I wanted to be able to know what it is to experience fatherly love.
“No matter where you are in your stage of life, parenting is going to be a challenge, there’s always going to be a new experience, and that's something that I carry with me on a day-to-day basis.”