With Child’s Way Reopening, Your Support is Needed Now More Than Ever
It was a fight from the beginning. A fight to break down barriers for kids, like Jackson, so that they can learn and grow in an environment that nurtures all their needs.
“Child’s Way was created in 1998 to provide medically fragile children with greater opportunity to become school-ready while providing parents/guardians with quality child care. At the time, it was the only daycare of its kind statewide” – Pamela Keen, CEO
To make a donation to Child’s Way, please click here.
Making History in Our City
Pamela Keen, CEO of The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center, has spent decades advocating for and growing the program in an effort to break down barriers for medically fragile children. In the summer of 2012, Pam led advocacy efforts on behalf of the families of medically fragile children to extend the eligible age of Pediatric Extended Care Centers (PECC) from 8 to 21. Soon after, House Bill 1960 was passed. With this legislative change, Child’s Way has been able to serve over 500 children with complex medical needs and grow a before-and after-school program for youth aged individuals.
Child’s Way strives to ensure each child, despite his or her barriers, may achieve optimal development through education and socialization, leading to school-readiness for transitioning to traditional classrooms. In turn, families are supported with quality child care, able to maintain employment, and thus affordable employer-sponsored health care.
Due to their complicated health needs, kids with physical disabilities and health disorders are unable to attend traditional daycares. Child’s Way gives them a chance to learn and better prepare for school and community programs in the future, with a staff of both teachers and nurses to create a setting that helps kids stay healthy as they learn. With the shutdown of Child’s Way due to the COVID-10 Pandemic, this program has suffered a revenue loss of $100,000.
Help Us Continue The Fight
After an eleven-week shutdown due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Child’s Way faced many unknowns. The program struggled financially while Jackson and his classmates were forced to stay home, unable to learn and socialize with their friends. With the reopening of Child’s Way on June 8th, Jackson is happy to be back with his friends, but the struggle is far from over.
Community support ensures that every child in need of services has access, by providing financial assistance for families unable to pay the $32-per-day child care fee. it also ensures families are not burdened with expensive medical bills for care, where Child’s Way covers shortfalls in third party insurance reimbursements for care provided to children. Finally, supporting Child’s Way means better health outcomes for medically fragile children, with continuous quality care, and early detection for other medical or developmental issues.
The Children’s Home is committed in its role as community anchor to ensuring support and access to services for those in need, but we need your help to continue the fight for kids, like Jackson.
Click here to read more about Jackson and his story.
To make a donation to Child’s Way, please click here.
