St. Vincent's Day Care Center

The Vanderburgh Community Foundation awarded $5,000 to upgrade the safety of the infant/toddler playground by removing lead paint that surrounded the playground.  The mission of St. Vincent's Day Care Center is to provide, high-quality, affordable child care to the families who need it most.  St. Vincent's currently subsidizes an average of $50 per week, per child.  These children would otherwise have limited access to affordable, safe, high quality child care.  St. Vincent's serves up to 200 children daily, aged six weeks to six years.  Ninety percent of enrolled children live in poverty.

The ultimate goal of St. Vincent's is to establish a solid early childhood educational foundation in the lives of very young, at risk children.  St. Vincent's program is curriculum-based, and includes learning experiences that foster exploration in science, the arts, reading and math.  Our services include a full-time social worker who coordinates counseling for families and children, a pediatric nurse, and on-site speech, occupational and physical therapists.

St. Vincent's does more than just care for children.  The staff cares for the entire family, supporting each child and family in its diverse strength and needs. 

Jack* (* real names are not used) came to St. Vincent's Day Care Center when he was one year old.  Teachers quickly identified Jack had developmental delays and worked with the staff social worker to coordinate speech and physical therapies.  Therapists came to St. Vincent's weekly to allow Jack's mother to continue working without interruption.  Jack was eventually diagnosed with autism.  The staff at St. Vincent's worked as a team to help Jack with potty training, academic, social and emotional skills.  Jack graduated from St. Vincent's and is doing well in his kindergarten special education classes in the EVSC.

Jane* struggled with substance abuse, despite having several young children at St. Vincent's.  The teachers noticed Jane was neglecting her children's nutrition, safety and hygiene needs and sought help for Jane and her children.  The social worker coordinated help through Child Protective Services to get Jane into a substance abuse program.  The children remained at St. Vincent's Day Care during the transition between foster care and home.  Jane is now working while staying clean and sober and the children are back with her, and thriving.

Martin* came to St. Vincent's Day Care Center for help with his three-month old son after the mother abandoned the child.  Martin enrolled the boy at St. Vincent's and staff helped Martin with tuition assistance, parenting skills and legal information.  Martin is doing a great job raising his son.

Steven's* parents were in the middle of a custody dispute.  Steven was becoming aggressive toward others and exhibiting increasingly aggressive behaviors.  St. Vincent's coordinated counselors and play therapists to work with Steven.  The staff helped Steven's dad develop a closer relationship with his son.  Soon after, Steven's outbursts stopped, and he now gets along well with the other children in the classroom. 

Carol's* four year old son attended St. Vincent's Day Care Center when their home burned down.  The family was left with nothing.  St. Vincent's Day Care staff posted flyers letting other families and staff  know about ways to help Carol.  Other St. Vincent's community worked together to provide clothes, food, money and gift cards to help Carol get back on her feet.  Carol was overwhelmed by the response from other families, most of whom are struggling themselves.