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SAN JOSE, CA - Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) in partnership with community organizations and agencies throughout Santa Clara County will support Emergency Childcare Programs for Healthcare Workers and First Responders.
Starting this week organizations like the YMCA in partnership with the Morgan Hill Unified School District, and the El Camino Hospital in Mountain View and Los Gatos, the SCCOE Emergency Preschool Program, and organizations in partnership with First 5 of Santa Clara, Healthier Kids Foundation, Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, the Santa Clara County Council, and the City of San Jose will begin opening preschool and childcare programs to serve children of medical personnel and first responders. These programs are not open to the general public.
“The statewide response to COVID-19 required the closure of schools to student attendance. However, we recognize this may leave essential healthcare workers and first responders without safe options for childcare,” says Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, County Superintendent of Schools at the Santa Clara Office of Education. “Our partnerships with local community organizations allows us to extend our support to help emergency personnel that continue to place themselves in harm's way to keep us safe.”
Childcare for Emergency Workers in the Morgan Hill area is currently available and provides meals as well as academic support and other activities that adhere to social distancing guidelines. Emergency workers in the Morgan Hill area are advised to visit the Morgan Hill Unified School District website.
Superintendent Steve Betando at the Morgan Unified School District emphasized the immediate need. “Paramedics, nurses, physicians, and other essential workers are also our community members and parents. With the schools closed, the overstressed emergency and medical field will be further burdened by the absence of many needing to stay home with their children, unless safe child care is available.”
Programs like childcare for emergency workers in Morgan Hill, are being offered through a collaboration of agencies and organizations across Santa Clara County. All childcare centers for emergency workers in Santa Clara County will follow social distancing, sanitation, and hygiene practices specified by the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, the State of California and the Federal Centers for Disease Control. Hours of operation, age requirements and cost will vary per program.
Interested applicants can contact their human resources or public affairs departments within their organization for details on how to easily enroll in programs in their area.
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About the Santa Clara County Office of Education
Working collaboratively with school and community partners, the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) is a regional service agency that provides instructional, business, and technology services to the 31 school districts of Santa Clara County. The County Office of Education directly serves students through special education programs, alternative schools, Head Start and State Preschool programs, migrant education, and Opportunity Youth Academy. The SCCOE also provides academic and fiscal oversight and monitoring to districts in addition to the 22 Santa Clara County Board of Education authorized charter schools.