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Program provides extra CARE Photo by Jim Craven CARE volunteer Sharon May, right, talks with Little Hands day-care provider Carolina Mena and one of her charges, 8-month-old Destiny McDonald, at Mena's home in Central Point. CARE volunteers have conducted inspections of more than 100 day-care homes since the program started in 1996. Senior volunteers help area child-care homes By JONEL ALECCIA CENTRAL POINT -- Sharon May looked carefully around the Little Hands day-care home, noting the spotless kitchen counters, the clean playroom floor, the cheery decorations that teach kids colors in two languages. She spied a half-dozen contented children, including 8-month-old Destiny McDonald, crawling happily toward a spongy ball. Clearly, the day-care business started a month ago by Carolina Mena was going well. But if it weren't, May would be among the first to notice -- and to help Mena and other first-time child care providers make necessary changes. May, 55, is a member of CARE, a three-year-old program that sends senior volunteers into day-care homes to offer assistance, advice and another pair of eyes. "She can help me see things that I don't see," said Mena, 25, who began the business as a way to remain at home with her children, ages 8, 4 and 5 months. CARE -- Caring Assistance with Resourceful Experience -- has reviewed nearly 100 area day-care homes since the program began in November 1996. It was started within weeks of the suffocation death of 2-year-old Tre Chase at a Medford day-care home. Terry Lee Carruthers, 48, husband of the provider, is serving a six-year prison sentence after being convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the child's death. Administered through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, CARE originally was aimed at improving the quality of largely unregulated day-care homes, including more than 400 in Jackson County. "The goal was to say this is a profession, this is not just babysitting," said Becky Snyder, RSVP director. Since then, however, tragedies such as Tre's death have sparked an overhaul of state inspections of day-care homes. The Oregon Child Care Division and the state Legislature have strengthened requirements and added new staff for inspections. New, stringent rules for training and maintenance also have been proposed to start in April, said Linda Stern, licensing manager for the child-care division. Those changes have altered, but not diminished, the need for efforts such as CARE, said Dennis Alexander, program manager for the Child Care Resource Network. "Politically, things have changed somewhat," said Alexander. "It was started when there was no training, no health and safety review. Now it's a wonderful complement to state inspections." Under the program, eight CARE volunteers visit providers three times during the first year of operation, including one unannounced visit. They conduct informal inspections, looking for health and safety problems and offering advice about issues from handwashing to education. "At one home, I saw a fireplace hearth that needed to be padded," said May, former assistant director of a day-care center. Day-care homes that comply with CARE standards are rewarded with certification. But the program's emphasis is on helping, not penalizing providers, Snyder said. "We didn't want it to be a negative `Gotcha!"' she noted. Instead, CARE offers assistance that ranges from the practical -- donations of fire extinguishers, ear thermometers, child-proof gates -- to the philosophical -- tuition for continuing education seminars and food safety workshops. "There's always something they can improve," May said. Organizers say the CARE program could be improved by recruiting more senior volunteers and more providers willing to open their homes. Some day-care workers are intimidated by the thought of unscheduled visits, but Carolina Mena said she doesn't mind. "That's fine," she said. "I have nothing to hide or worry about." For more information, call Snyder at 779-5257. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA