Families to help with childcare
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
It will be grandparents to the rescue for many Hawai'i families today.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
While daycare is available from a host of organizations, most are charging $20 a day or more, and many parents, especially those with large families, said they can't afford the care.
Denita Curioso walks with her children, Benson, 7, and Shaidelle, 5, in front of a mockup of the NASA space shuttle at Princess Kaiulani Elementary School.
"We got to bring my moms to town coming from Waipahu to take care of our children," who attend Kaiulani School on North King Street, said Wilson Curioso.
"Grandma is out in Waipahu living in elderly housing, so I hope she is going to be in good condition," said Curioso, who works at Catholic Charities. "We try to avoid to bother her. But our supervisor is asking us our plans, and I heard about a program to take care of kids at $20 a day per kid, and I cannot afford to pay that amount."
While some agencies said they would care for children first and worry about money later, many parents were waiting until the last minute to sign up.
Kamaaina Kids, which is prepared to handle 3,000 children, had signed up about 700 signed up yesterday afternoon.
"Most people are taking a wait-and-see approach," said Mark Nishiyama, chief operating officer at Kamaaina Kids.
In Kalihi, legislators gathered for a town meeting last night to urge that parents not to leave children home alone.
"We are cautioning parents not to leave their children unsupervised and to be aware of where their children are, and (informing them about) what to do in case of an emergency," said State Rep. Dennis Arakaki, D-28th (Kalihi Heights, Kamehameha Heights).
"Kalihi is a working-class community, and we are heavily dependent on our schools to provide not only education, but care and guidance for the children and their families," Arakaki noted. "A lot of these families are low-income, and a lot of them are being forced to stay at home to care for their children.
"We are also trying to see if employers can be a little more understanding about giving parents time off to check on their children," Arakaki said. "And although I can appreciate that employers want to make sure that operations are not disrupted and that there are no safety problems, we are hoping more will allow children to accompany parents to the workplace."
Arakaki suggested parents take turns caring for groups of children.
Some care, even from non-profit organizations, is out of reach for many.
The YMCA charges $40 a day for childcare. "That's how much some parents make in a day," said Cherie Olpendo, who has two daughters in Linapuni School.
Grace Bible Church in 'Al«wa Heights is asking $125-$175 a week for childcare. William Pacarro, associate pastor, said the church won't make any profit at that rate, providing care for up to 50 children.
Grandparents Charlene and Ryan Edayan, picking up Josiah and Kiana, both 6, at Kaiulani School yesterday, said they will be the caregivers in their family.
"I think Hawai'i has more of that," said Charlene Edayan. "Ohana, right? But I know of one woman who has four children and she hasn't any family here, and she doesn't know what she can do."
At the Bankoh Insurance Agency offices in Lihu'e, Kaua'i, mothers are calling on family members to handle child-care duties.
"My daughter's 16 years old, so she'll be able to watch her two brothers," said Liz Nunes. Her daughter goes to Kauai High, while her 12-year-old goes to Kamakahelei School and her 7-year-old attends Wilcox Elementary.
A cubicle away, Melissa Robley said her father will watch her 6-year-old.
At the Maui Family YMCA in Kahului, almost all of the 85 slots for swim camp are taken, said Operations Director Roberta Mendez. The YMCA also is offering a drop-in day camp for 60 children.
"For about three days we've been getting constant calls, and every call has been about childcare," Mendez said. "They are very frantic. They don't know what they're going to do."
Primo Santiago of Kokea Street, who works at Kamehameha Shopping Center, said she will have no problem with daughter Ciara, 6, a first-grader at Kaiulani, because "my mother does the childcare when I am at work."
Ciara, a first-grader, said her teacher told her to watch the television news to find out if she is coming to school.
Davelyn Quijano, a financial planner, has daughter Allison, 6, and son, Janere, 8 at Kaiulani, another child in intermediate school and a fourth in high school. Private daycare would be too expensive, Quijano said. "I might as well take off from work."
