Rogers Activity Center Adds Fee for Child Care

ROGERS -- Child care isn't free any longer at the Rogers Activity Center.

Child care now costs $5 a visit for parents to drop their young ones off at KIDcare. Administrators announced Dec. 29 the program for children 2 months to 9 years would carry a fee. Parents can opt to volunteer five hours a month at the center instead.

Charging for the KIDcare program is an attempt to offset some of its costs, said Coleta Paris, director of the Activity Center.

The child care option is open for three hours in the morning and again in the evening. The service was adopted so moms could attend fitness classes, Paris said. Most people using the program are moms taking a fitness class or sometimes dads joining in a basketball game, she said.

Classes aren't a moneymaker for the nonprofit organization running the center. Add the part-time positions to watch the little ones, and the program was in the red.

"It's a two-edged sword," Paris said of the combination.

Every program is evaluated on an individual basis, she said. If costs go up for team sports, then the amount families are asked to pay would also go up. Midmorning programming that targets the stay-at-home mom can't pinch other programs.

Keeping both programs is important, Paris said. Fitness classes offer moms more than a chance to get fit, but allow them to socialize and have a break from their toddlers, she said.

"They need an hour and a half a day two or three times a week," Paris said.

Visiting the center has been a good experience, said Traci Weinstock. During the past three years she has built strength with yoga and weights, and her grandsons met friends in KIDcare.

"It helped both our well-beings," Weinstock said.

However, she visits the center once, sometimes twice a day. Her initial reaction to the fee was that a flat $5 per visit charge would hit her hard. The women in her class were talking and comparing costs on Tuesday morning, she said.

"A lot of people probably won't renew their memberships," Weinstock said.

Other nonprofit centers face the same issue.

At the Northwest Arkansas Mercy Family YMCA in Rogers a remodeled, Dr. Suess-themed room will open next week for ChildWatch, said Jessica Piel, membership director. Sponsorship and volunteer help brought improvements to the Ocean Spray Kids Zone, Piel said. The YMCA has ChildWatch for children 3 months to 7 years, and a separate room for pre-teens.

Youth classes are often scheduled at the same time as adult classes at The Jones Center in Springdale, said Paige Ray, spokeswoman. A child might attend taekwondo while mom attends a Zumba class or she might be able to work out in the fitness center while the child takes skating classes. There's no program for infants or young children.

"Child care isn't part of our mission, and we leave that to those who do it well," Ray said.

Child care and adult classes at the YMCA are part of a $63-a-month family membership, Piel said.

An annual family membership at the Rogers Activity Center is $80 a year at the Rogers Activity Center. Programs -- soccer, martial arts, after-school care and adult wellness -- are paid for a la carte. A special family membership available through February will bundle the child-care cost into the center family membership for $175 a year. It works much like the Fitness Frenzy package that covers scheduled classes, Paris said. Classes are $5 each or $45 for two months or, at the beginning of the year, can be purchased as a full-year package of $200.

The beginning of the year brings people in droves, said the YMCA's Piel.

A class is a low-pressure environment that helps people who might never have been in a gym before transition to a healthier lifestyle, she said. Maybe it's just a way to learn something new. The most popular classes at the YMCA are Group Power, an aerobic weight training class that has appealed to both men and women, Piel said.

"It's a great way to form almost a micro-community," she said.

Every year, January brings people in to use the walking track, the weight machines and play basketball at the Rogers Activity Center. Many are members all year, but the cold brings them in, Paris said.

Changes this year will hopefully bring in a few more dollars and distribute costs more evenly, Paris said. Even a few more volunteer hours will help to keep the programs running at low costs.

Parent Teresa Mondragon said she had questions about using volunteers in the KIDcare program. The quality of the children's program was part of the reason for her membership, she said. The location is secure, but visible and the staff keep a close eye on children, Mondragon said.

A volunteer option doesn't mean they will pull the two staffers who watch children, Paris said.

Parents could volunteer anywhere. Some moms might like the option of working with their children's friends, or they could disinfect exercise equipment, or some other job, Paris said.

"There will be a process before any volunteers are scheduled in KIDcare," Paris said. "Before I let anyone in there I want to know who they are and why they want to be in there with children."

Mothers have volunteered before at the center to scholarship their children's involvement in other programs, Paris said.

The fee and volunteer option aren't going to offset the total cost.

"It's going to help with the total picture of what we do," Paris said.

NW News on 01/04/2015