Page 7 - MidWeek East - Feb 2, 2022

Free Course Offers Child Care Solution
The Family Child Care Essentials certificate program, which is being piloted by Windward Community College, is open to East O‘ahu residents. PHOTO COURTESY WINDWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
as more parents are return- ing to the workforce. This increases stress on families, making it harder for some parents to return to work and slows economic recovery.
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Addressing this need, Windward CC’s Office of Career and Community Education, in partnership with People Attentive to Children (also known as PATCH) and Learning to Grow developed the pi- lot program, consisting of three parts.
Cassia Simms of Wind- ward CC.
“Enrollment is open to anyone on all islands, pro- vides program materials and is completely free of charge,” Simms adds.
The second cohort starts the first week in February. It is a hybrid format with part of it completed on de- mand and part of it done face-to-face via Zoom.
Students will complete six required courses with PATCH and 20 noncredit training hours with Wind- ward CC in a collaborative environment with other pro- viders. For the final compo- nent, students will receive one-on-one coaching to support their success.
PHOTO COURTESY LINDA MCCOLGAN
KAIPO
Kaipo was rescued in January 2020 and is nearly 7 years old. He enjoys paddle boarding at the beach and is quite popular with locals and visitors. The Pālolo resident also likes to sit in his chair while watching his paw-rents play pickleball.
‘East O‘ahu Voice’ is accepting photos of your furry (or scaly or feathered) friend for its Pet of the Week feature. Send your photo to tmero@midweek.com and be sure to include your pet’s name, age, the area of East O‘ahu you live in and any fun fact you’d like to share with readers.
A 2017 study by Univer- sity of Hawai‘i’s Center on the Family found that 64% of children of working par- ents need care and existing providers could only serve 25% of them. According to Windward CC officials, the current pandemic has dis- rupted existing services — decreasing the capacity of existing providers — just
For more information, call 808-235-7363. Course information, registration and information session sign up can be found online at windwardcce.org/efcc.
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