By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com

And while parents are working hard, their children are in need of quality supervision.

In the Grand Island area, a number of programs and child care services are available for parents who can't be home when their children get out of school.

But, according to some local experts, what's currently available may not be enough to meet the community's needs.

In particular, there are few area licensed child care providers who offer evening and overnight hours, said Roxanne Vipond, director of Child Care Solutions in Grand Island.

"We have some, but they're not enough," Vipond said.

For parents who work evening and night shifts, that creates an especially difficult obstacle.

Some large employers that have second and third shifts, including JBS Swift & Co., offer their employees lists of child care providers they can access.

However, with few providers, as well as families that can't afford child care, some parents may resort to leaving their children home alone for a period of time.

"Maybe that's a need that exists in our community that somehow hasn't been addressed," said Sondra Schwehn, director of the Central Nebraska Child Advocacy Center. "We don't have enough of a variety of resources for families to access."

The community could especially use more evening and summer programs to keep children safely occupied, Schwehn said.

Even so, the resources that do exist have been doing better at working together, said Schwehn and Joni Kuzma, who are both members of the Coalition for Children.

The coalition works to help coordinate the efforts of those who provide services for children in the Grand Island area, said Kuzma, who also works as the community development administrator for the city.

"One of the good things about the coalition is we're trying to strengthen the programs we already have instead of starting new programs, because we have so many good things in the community for children and families," Kuzma said.

Among those good things are a number of after-school programs.

The YMCA offers a variety of youth sports programs throughout the year to help keep children busy, said Thor Larson, YMCA executive director. In addition, a number of children and youths go to the Y after school to use the facility's open gyms, game room and computer lab. When the game room, lab and gym are occupied, after-school activities can sometimes spill into the hallways.

"(That) sometimes can be a challenge for our older members," Larson said. "We have discussed the possibility of expanding to have a larger youth and teen engagement center."

During the summer, the organization offers a School's Out Fun Club and a Summer Fun Club, which provide supervised activities all day.

For those who would not normally be able to afford a YMCA membership, the Y offers scholarships on a sliding scale.

"The YMCA is here because the community wants it to be here, and if there are people within the community that need access to the Y ... (we're) not going to turn anybody away because of inability to pay," Larson said.

The YWCA offers an after-school program called Almost Home for elementary-age children that provides on-site care at some schools and transportation from the others.

"We take children after school. They're involved, they play with other children, they enjoy themselves, they're in a safe environment," said Jennifer Larson, executive director of the YWCA. "It's quality after-school care rather than children being home unattended, alone."

Some other organizations, such as Third City Christian Church, provide their own after-school activities for children. Third City will also offer an all-day program for the first time this summer, said director Andrew Bernal.

And in the summer, the city's Parks and Recreation Department offers some supervised activities for children.

This fall, the opening of a Boys and Girls Club in Grand Island will fill many of the remaining gaps in needed after-school programming and quality supervision, said Schwehn and Kuzma.

While they haven't yet secured a facility, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Nebraska plans to begin its facility-based program with structured programs open to youths ages 6-18, said Brenda Branstiter, chief volunteer officer with the organization.

A club membership would probably cost between $5 and $20 per year, and the facility would be open into the evening hours, she said.

"We need a safe, affordable place that's building-centered for youth, where they don't have shared space with adults a place they can call their own," Branstiter said.

Until then, those who need help finding care for their children can always turn to Child Care Solutions, a resource provided through Grand Island Public Schools.

"Quality child care, it's very important for a child's development, especially in the early years," Vipond said.