TAMPA, Fla. — During this tough time, there are options for families who need child care.
Starting March 23, many local YMCA facilities are offering “relief care” for school-age children whose parents work in medical, emergency response, and military fields.
Employees in those fields must ask their employers for the link to register.
Care.com is also offering a free one-month premium membership for parents in the healthcare field. The cost of a premium membership is usually $39/month. This offer isn’t just for child care. Their services also include pet sitting and elder care.
And, if you’re wondering if these workers are safe, Care.com tells us, as of July, they background-check all providers before they are put on the site. The background check includes:
- Social Security Number trace
- National Sex Offender Public Website search
- Multi-jurisdictional criminal database search
- Federal and county criminal records search
Families can also choose to do more extensive background checks on their own.
In a statement to 10News, Care.com wrote:
“As school closures expand across the country and the number of parents working from home grows, families are definitely adjusting and more are looking to Care.com for help. For example, in the days/week following the announcement of school closures in Seattle, Boston, San Francisco and Houston, we have seen double-digit percent increases in requests for care in nearly all those cities. Given this trend, we expect that as school closures spread to other regions, demand for additional help will rise.”
They’re also encouraging teachers and healthcare providers to sign up to offer their services during this difficult time.
“Having caregivers who can help with everything from grocery shopping and errands to full in-home non-medical care, will provide peace of mind for families and seniors alike. Which is why Care.com announced it is offering a free one-month premium membership to frontline healthcare workers and those needing senior care as well as strongly encouraging those seeking employment to enter the caregiving workforce.”
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Best practices from Care.com:
- For those parents who are looking for in-home child care help right now, we recommend adding the following questions to any interview with a caregiver:
• Have you been diagnosed with coronavirus or traveled to a CDC designated Level 2 or 3 area within the past 14 days?
• Have you been in close contact (e.g shared a household or room or been together for a period of time) with anyone who has a confirmed case of coronavirus or is showing symptoms? - And for caregivers responding to jobs, we recommend they too ask the following important questions:
• Has anyone in your household been diagnosed with coronavirus or traveled to a CDC designated Level 2 or 3 area within the past 14 days?
• Has everyone in your household been symptom-free for 14 days?
• If someone in your household has recently recovered from coronavirus, do you have proof of medical clearance?
Here are YMCA locations participating in 'relief care':
SCHEDULE:
Dates: March 23-27, March 30-April 3, April 6-10, April 13-15
Time: 7am - 6pm
Cost: $50 per week (No child is turned away due to inability to pay. Please inquire about financial aid.)
“Thanks to our friends at Florida Blue (who donated $100,000) and our YMCA members who are choosing to stay with us during our temporary closure (donating their monthly membership fees to help us meet critical community needs), we were able to lower the rate significantly for these essential worker families,” YMCA said in a statement.
TAMPA METROPOLITAN AREA YMCA
BOB GILBERTSON CENTRAL CITY FAMILY YMCA
110 E. Palm Ave., Tampa FL 33602
P 813.229.9622
BOB SIERRA NORTH TAMPA YMCA YOUTH & FAMILY CENTER
4015 Ragg Rd., Tampa FL 33624
P 813.269.9404
CAMPO FAMILY YMCA
3414 Culbreath Road, Valrico FL 33596
P 813.684.1371
EAST PASCO FAMILY YMCA
37301 Chapel Hill Lp.,
Zephyrhills FL 33542
P 813.780.9622
NEW TAMPA FAMILY YMCA
16221 Compton Drive, Tampa FL 33647
P 813.866.9622
NORTH BRANDON FAMILY YMCA
3097 S. Kingsway Rd., Seffner FL 33584
P 813.685.5402
NORTHWEST HILLSBOROUGH FAMILY YMCA
8950 W. Waters Ave., Tampa FL 33615
P 813.249.8510
PLANT CITY FAMILY YMCA
1507 YMCA Place, Plant City FL 33563
P 813.757.6677
SOUTH TAMPA FAMILY YMCA
4411 S. Himes Ave., Tampa FL 33611
P 813.839.0210
SPURLINO FAMILY YMCA AT BIG BEND ROAD
9650 Old Big Bend Rd.,
Gibsonton, FL 33534
P 813.436.5890
YMCA CAMP CRISTINA
9840 Balm Riverview Rd.,
Riverview FL 33569
P 813.677.8400
YMCA OF THE SUNCOAST
CITRUS MEMORIAL HEALTH FOUNDATION YMCA
4127 W. Norvell Bryant Hwy.,
Lecanto FL 34461
P 352.500.9622
CLEARWATER YMCA
1005 S. Highland Ave.,
Clearwater FL 33756
P 727.461.9622
JAMES P. GILLS FAMILY YMCA
8411 Photonics Drive,
Trinity FL 34655
P 727.375.9622
GREATER PALM HARBOR YMCA
1600 16th St., Palm Harbor, FL 34683
P 727.787.9622
HERNANDO COUNTY YMCA
1300 Mariner Blvd., Spring Hill FL 34609
P 352.688.9622
HIGH POINT YMCA
5345 Laurel Place, Clearwater FL 33760
P 727.507.9622
NORTH PINELLAS YMCA
4550 Village Center Drive,
Palm Harbor FL 34685
P 727.772.9622
GREATER RIDGECREST YMCA
1801 119th St. N, Largo FL 33778
P 727.559.0500
YMCA OF GREATER ST. PETERSBURG
CHILDS PARK YMCA
691 43rd St. South,
St. Petersburg, FL 33711
P 727.209.9622
JIM & HEATHER GILLS YMCA
3200 1st Ave. South,
St. Petersburg, FL 33712
P 727.328.9622
BARDMOOR YMCA
8495 Bryan Dairy Rd.,
Largo, FL 33777
P 727.394.9622
YMCA AT LEALMAN EXCHANGE
5175 45th St. North,
St. Petersburg FL 33714
P 727.895.9622 ext. 4102
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