By Renee Worthing 

Staff Writer

Sitting in the upstairs office of CareLink Resource Development Center in downtown Sanford, Director Cheryl O’Neil used her fingers to count off the number of committees she is involved in. She held up both hands.

“Ten,” she said. “Maybe more. If something needs to be done, I’ll do it.”

CareLink Resource Development Center, a non-profit state-funded program, has served York County for 20 years, offering several resource and referral services including day care referral, training for day care providers and parents, USDA Food Program and the Childcare Benefit Program.

The center originally contracted with the state of Maine to develop a detailed database of all child care providers in York County. Using the database, CareLink helps parents locate licensed daycare providers and helps them make informed choices about who will care for their children.

O’Neil, who has served as Care Link’s director for four years, said there are basic questions parents should ask, but often don’t think of.

“Some parents meet the center’s owner and think that is the person who will be in contact with their child,” O’Neil said, adding parents are often surprised to find the person caring for their child is not the person they met.

She said selecting a daycare provider is a very personal choice.

“Some parents want a curriculum-based day care and others want a place that is a warm, welcoming and home-like,” she said.

She said learning as much about a day care center as possible prevents children from being removed from a facility by the parents. O’Neil said parents, after their child is enrolled, sometimes discover the provider was not a good match.

“It’s detrimental to move a child repeatedly,” she said. “They need stability and an enriching environment.”

O’Neil is working to increase employer participation in the Child Care Benefit Network, an employee benefit intended to help employers attract and retain workers with children by helping employees find childcare providers. She said childcare issues often affect an employee’s job performance and she hopes the Child Care Benefit Network will help solve the problem by providing parents with reliable childcare.

Under a contractual agreement, O’Neil said CareLink will take the “footwork” out of searching for an appropriate child care provider. Using the database, CareLink can match employees with day care providers. The Child Care Benefit Network also offers training on trends in childcare and how childcare impacts workplace dynamics.

  CareLink also offers 391 hours of training in various topics for parents, grandparents and child care providers in subjects such as first aid and CPR, building relationships, health, wellness and operating a family child care business, O’Neil said.  The courses are taught by professionals in the child care business and are conducted at various locations throughout York County, including Sanford, Biddeford and Kennebunk. Some courses are available online, as well.

O’Neil said CareLink also participates in the USDA food program which offers a percentage of reimbursement to family childcare centers that provide USDA-approved meals to children in their care. O’Neil said of the 356 licensed providers in York County, only 41 are using the USDA food program through CareLink.

O’Neil said when she hears of a program that would benefit children, she is quick to jump at the opportunity to introduce it to the community and incorporate it into the fabric of CareLink’s offerings. She said CareLink often partners with other organizations to bring programs to communities, including Maine Humanities Council’s Born to Read program, an early childhood literacy program in York County.

She also initiated the Giving Program, a 13-year-old holiday tradition of giving donated gifts to children at Christmas. She said the first year she began the Giving Program, she collected one trash bag of donated toys. The program has grown, though, and last year, 157 children had gifts to open at Christmas. She said local business often adopt families and collect gifts for their family.

She said the slow economy this year might mean many children may not wake up to gifts under the tree on Christmas morning and she hopes more people will donate unwrapped gifts this year.

A new initiative called Eco-Friendly Childcare will kick off in November, O’Neil said. The CareLink staff will undergo training on eco-friendly childcare practices and pass their knowledge on to care providers. She said the training will be a “learning curve” as providers learn to use environmentally friendly cleaning products.

“Think about the aerosol sprays we use,” she said. “When your children get sick, the doctor is looking for medical reasons for the illness. They aren’t thinking of things like the Lysol spray you use or the carpeting in your home that may trigger allergies. They prescribe medications when really, all you need to do is take away the spray bottle.”

She said One Earth Natural Food Store in Shapleigh is joining forces with CareLink to make eco-friendly childcare a reality by offering child care providers a discount on environmentally friendly cleaning products.  

She is involved in recruiting “Bigs” for the “Big Brothers/Big Sisters” program in Kennebunk. “Bigs” are adult volunteers who serve as mentors to children of all ages. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is trying to expand to Sanford and Springvale with O’Neil’s help.

She also advocates for parents and daycare providers. She said when Sanford’s school bus company decided to change bus routes without notice, she was concerned about how many children would have to change day care providers. She plotted the old bus stops, proposed bus stops and childcare centers on a map and took it to the school superintendent.

“I said, ‘Look how many families that will affect, how many lives that will be disrupted,’” O’Neil said. “The superintendent relented. The bus stops were never changed.”

She said she is excited about the upcoming “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids” summit sponsored by York County United Way, which is slated for Oct. 14. The event is the first York County “community conversation” on early childhood care and education. She said it will be an opportunity for anyone, including parents and child care providers, to talk about child care issues and have their voices heard by law makers.

“I hope lots of people attend,” she said. “We need new voices and new ideas.”

CareLink, currently located 906 Main Street, across from Shaw’s hardware, will soon be moving.

CareLink will continue to provide services and referrals from its new location at the Children’s Center on Amherst Street in Sanford.

For more information about CareLink’s services, call O’Neil at 324-0735 or visit www.carelinkrdc.com