Educare is a state-of-the-art early childhood center that provides all-day, year-round care and education for economically disadvantaged children from birth to age five.

What do we believe?

Educare of Omaha is dedicated to helping families raise strong and healthy children. We believe that the best way to do this is to form a partnership with families and children. These partnerships are based on mutual trust, understanding, respect and common goals.

Who is eligible to attend?

• Infants, toddlers and preschool aged children.
• Children with special needs or English language learners.
• Children whose family income falls below the federal poverty guidelines and/or who receive Title XX child care assistance.
• Children whose parents are enrolled in school or a job-training program or who are working at least part-time.

How is the program funded?

• Nebraska Department of Education
• Nebraska Health and Human Services Systems.
• Omaha Public Schools.
• Sliding Scale Fees (for families not receiving Title XX).

What makes us different?

• Low child to staff ratios.
• Highly trained staff.
• Low staff turnover.
• Experienced and highly trained supervisors.
• State-of-the-art facility.
• Parent volunteers.
• Parent Advisory Committee.
  

Collaborative Effort

The Educare center is a collaborative effort involving the Omaha Public Schools, the State of Nebraska and the Susan A. Buffett Foundation. United by the common goal of providing a better future for children and their families, organizers replicated the program established in 2000 by the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago’s inner city. The Ounce of Prevention’s Educare center has become a national model for the effective delivery of comprehensive early childhood care and education in an urban setting.

Staffing and Programming

Each of the center’s 15 classrooms will be staffed with a BA-degreed early childhood teacher, an assistant teacher with an AA degree, and a paraprofessional. The center will operate with a staff-to-child ratio of 1-to-3 for infants and toddlers and 1-to-6 for pre-school aged children.
Beyond programming for children, Educare reaches out to parents, especially new mothers, teens and those receiving public assistance. The center will employ six family support specialists to help strengthen the parent-child relationship, to aid the transition from welfare to work and to assist in overcoming threats to health and safety outside the center.