10-28-05 FEMA Declares 20 Counties in Wilma Disaster Area; 382,750 Child Care Slots Affected

FEMA Declares 20 Counties in Wilma Disaster Area; 382,750 Child Care Slots Affected

OCT. 28, 2005 | The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared 20 counties eligible for assistance following Hurricane Wilma’s march across southern Florida.

The hurricane potentially affected 5,559 early care and education providers with a total of 382,750 child care slots. Those providers are in four categories: licensed child care centers, licensed family child care homes, licensed large family child care homes, and registered family child care homes.

See a map of the Wilma disaster area and companion table of providers. Cartographer Chad E. Landgraf of the Rural Policy Research Institute produced the map and table for the Rural Early Childhood Atlas.

Little clear information was available about damages to providers, but the Naples Daily News in Collier County on the southeastern tip of the state reported today that dozens of child care centers were closed.

From the Naples (Florida) Daily News (Oct. 28, 2005):

Dozens of child-care centers remained closed this week, frustrating parents who are pressured to get back to work and who are dependent on their child-care centers to make that possible

Without electricity, water and telephones, or just one of those essential services, the centers cannot legally re-open, said Dawn Shepherd, a family resource counselor in Fort Myers with Child Care of Southwest Florida Inc., a referral agency for families.

Phone service is down for the agency's Collier office, so Shepherd and others in the Fort Myers office are helping make calls to child-care centers in Collier County to find out about re-opening dates.

Many calls have gone unanswered.

"Nobody so far I've talked to are finding major damage. There's been no total losses of centers," Shepherd said.

Parents can call the Fort Myers office of the referral agency for whatever updates may be available about the re-opening of their center, she said. The number is 278-4114.

Donna Philp, with the Collier office, said she's been making site visits when calls, from her cell, go unanswered at child-care centers.

"Most of them say they are going with the Collier County school schedule, so that means Monday," Philp said. "All pretty much will try to open Monday, but that all depends on electricity."

Philp said there's no doubt some parents are upset.

"I'm not hearing anything from parents because my phone doesn't work," she said. "I'm sure they are complaining. They may just be busy cleaning up their yards."

46 Blackjack Road / P.O. Box 6013 / Mississippi State, MS / 39762

The contents of this web site were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

To subscribe to an occasional newsletter, send an e-mail message with “subscribe ruralec” in the subject line to ruralearlychildhood@aristotle.net. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message with “unsubscribe ruralec” in the subject line to the same address.

Contact Rural Early Childhood with questions about the Rural Early Childhood site.
© 2004-2006 Mississippi State University

Updated 12/01/2006