4CS of Passaic County, Inc.
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About Us
“The mission of 4CS of Passaic County, Inc. is to assist families to obtain excellent quality child care that is available, accessible, and affordable.” We are a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, child-care resource and referral organization that administers one of the largest child-care financial subsidy programs in the State of New Jersey. 4CS of Passaic County exists to assist families in obtaining high quality early childcare and education that is accessible, available and affordable. Our vision is to serve every child in need of our services in Passaic County. Through our financial assistance for childcare (subsidy program) we serve 6K low-income families (10K children) out of 13.5K (28.4k) potentially eligible. We would like all those in need of our services to be aware of what we offer. Also, through our Center for Child Care Careers, 4CS seeks to enhance the agency's mission by mentoring, teaching, offering technical assistance and communicating about early care and education concerns, such as high quality childcare, children's healthy development, and raising successful children through increasing the knowledge and skills of parents and child care providers. Our target population is poor, low- and/or moderate-income through our eligibility scale provided by The State of New Jersey, Division of Family Development; this scale is based on the federal poverty levels (FPL). Individuals who are applying to the subsidy program must meet the income eligibility requirements to receive the subsidy. Our most important goal is to help families, and most commonly single mothers, find child care that is accessible, available and affordable. They struggle with day-to-day life and associated expenses; we know that child care is high on that list. With financial assistance to pay for child care they are better able to focus on other life areas such as work, school and raising a family. We exist to make the burden lighter for these families and to ensure that the next generation is poised for success because they got the right start. Childcare is one of the top three expenses for families so helping families pay for child care allows them to allot funds in other areas and or save for their children's future. Families have a higher chance of purchasing a home, saving for their college education, putting food on the table, purchasing a vehicle, the list is exhaustive. Having high quality childcare ensures children are learning at their highest potential and also allows the parent to go to work or school knowing that their child is taken care of. 4CS of Passaic County's key programming is the child care subsidy and the educational and training competent, available through of Center for Childcare Careers vocational school, of early childhood education which is open to not only those interested in child care careers but also the general public. What makes our programs unique is that we touch two sides of the same coin. While we offer childcare financial assistance to families, we also train and educate many of the same providers of the care that is being provided to these children. We can influence the care that these children are receiving. We also help those who would like to become a provider of child care in their home through the process. We are an economic engine in the county as we train and educate individuals in the workforce as well as allowing parents to work and attend school. In the last year alone we have brought in approximately 26 million dollars into the region through our programs. A majority of the clients we serve, about 95%, are women. When women are able to work and/or attend school the family as a unit is able to thrive. Empowered women strive to build a higher education for themselves and their children building on their strengths, acquired knowledge and skills. As they prepare themselves, they also become their children’s mentors and coaches. Their children look to them for guidance and also for the knowledge of how to approach their own goals and education. Helping these women now will motivate them to be the leaders, supporters of education, and role models that the children, our future, need to succeed. 4CS remains responsive to community needs by being family friendly. We have an open door policy agency, which means there are no appointments needed come and speak with a case worker or program specialist. We open at 8:00 am, so families can stop by before work, and we also open one night a week until 7:00 pm in order to accommodate working families who may not be available during regular office hours. We have many program participants who have used our program services and have moved forward in life. These participants have completed higher education degrees and /or acquired advanced senior leadership positions in businesses and local community agencies. They were able to finish school and/or go to work because they had assurance that their child was in a safe place that they could afford. We also have children whose parents were recipients of the program and they benefited from their parent advancing forward.
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Contact Information
2 Market Street,Suite 300
Paterson , NJ 07501
Call 973-684-1904