r
S
everal months before her
daughter Daniella was born,
Debbie Silverstein started to
look for day care. Silverstein,
a full-time student, began
student teaching in January. She
needed a secure place for her six-
month-old child.
The search seemed fruitless.
Silverstein hoped to hire a person to
sit in her home, but the cost was more
than she could afford. So she turned
her search to day care homes, in
-which women provide care for several
children in their own homes.
Finally, Silverstein got lucky. A
neighbor who had just been licensed
for home day care passed out flyers
looking for children.
"She's a Jewish woman, and
everything in her house is up to code,"
Silverstein said. "She's close by. She's
taking care of my daughter and her
own infant, and one or two other
children. While I'm hesitant about
Kendlar said. "The woman we found
was extremely good, but she wasn't
Jewish. She had a Christmas tree in
her home. At 2 1/2, my daughter came
In fact, the only Jewish organiza-
tion that provides day care for infants
is the JCC in West Bloomfield. And
when Silverstein called about enroll-
ing her baby in the program, she was
told that new names are not being
taken.
That's because only siblings of
children currently in the JCC nursery
program are being admitted to the
limited spaces in the infant care
facility, explained program director
Fredelle Schneider.
"We have room for 24 kids, ages
2 months to 2 1/2 years," Schneider
said. "We have a long waiting list,
"Many people call and want in-
home care," said Barbara Lefton, ad-
ministrative assistant for the
organization. "They want a Jewish
woman, but there aren't too many out
there babysitting. We suggest they
put an ad in the paper. Or we refer
them to the Oakland-Livingston
Human Services, which is a good
resource."
When parents receive lists of
licensed caregivers from state agen-
cies, it will contain names like those
of Debbie Lebovic, who cares for
children in her Southfield home. Of
the six children that Lebovic is licens-
ed to watch, state law says that two
can be under 2 1/2. Lebovic, who works
Monday through Thursday, provides
kosher meals, games and toys for the
children in her charge.
Another person on the state list is
Darlene Feldman whose home day
care has caused a controversy in Far-
mington Hills. While licensed by the
state, Feldman's work was in violation
of a city ordinance. She is still in
business due to a special moratorium
of the city law, and is working with
Sen. Jack Faxon to pass a law requir-
ing cities to conform with state
statutes on home day care.
A. Enjoying play time.
B. Kara Hahn models.
C. Jeffrey Schappa is done.
D. Kara Hahn, Morad Lebovitt, Jordan
Gersten.
Making
a project.
E.
F. Andrew Limpus feeds Benjamin Schwartz.
G. Mildred Pivos and son Benjamin.
H. Bryant Shain.
I. Jeremy Sasson works while Shirley Davis
helps Liza Shiffman.
r
leaving Daniella, I'm thrilled to have
found such a good arrangement."
Silverstein's cousin, Steve
Kendlar, who works for a paper com-
pany, and his wife Deborah Leider, a
dentist, were not so lucky. When their
daughter, now 3, was an infant, they
were unable to find any type of Jewish
day care. -
"You can't find quality places to
leave kids that have any kind of
Jewish influence," Kendlar said.
"There is no one to turn to, to help
with the problem. There's nobody
available, other than in the Orthodox
community — and the bulk of the
Jewish community isn't Orthodox."
Although Kendlar and his wife
wanted their child to be in a Jewish
setting, the Royal Oak residents settl-
ed for a woman who provided a good,
but non-Jewish, home.
"We looked at a lot of licensed
homes, and we wouldn't have con-
sidered leaving our child there,"
nant," Schneider said. "We have a
marvelous reputation, and ours is the
only Jewish infant-toddler program
available in the area. But we don't
have a lot of turnover."
The program cannot be expanded,
because all available space is in use,
Schneider said. An infant program is
expensive, with a four-to-one staff
ratio required by the state. At best,
the infant care area breaks even, and
is balanced by the nursery program,
she said.
When people call about infant
care, the staff at the JCC offers a list
of licensed day care homes provided
by the Oakland County Department
of Social Services. Some people also
call the Jewish Information Service,
seeking names of day care providers.
home singing 'Jesus is coming to my
house, and I said that's it — and we
switched her to the Jewish Communi-
ty Center in Oak Park."
"We were lucky she was old
enough for the program at the JCC,"
Kendlar added. "Infant day care that
is Jewish is impossible to find."
and it takes over a year. By the time
they are able to get in, they are ready
for the nursery program. Siblings
have priority. We haven't taken new
names in a long time.
"We have people call us when
they first get pregnant — some when
they are thinking about getting preg-
Feldman, who has an assistant, is
allowed to care for 12 children in her
home. Of those, four can be infants.
"I could have 12 babies," Feldman
said. "I get at least three calls a day
for infants. I've had people call me
when they came home from the doc-
tor after finding out they were preg-
nant. One child started with me when
he was 6 weeks old, but his mother
started long before he was born.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
47