Education empowers. Every child should have access to quality education.
YWCA Central Alabama’s Child Development Program provides children with a high-quality educational experience in a safe, loving environment.
YWCA Child Development Center offers affordable child care for low- to moderate-income families. The sensory engaging center uses a developmentally appropriate curriculum for our children – ages 6 weeks to 5 years old – to support their social and emotional growth. Our program also considers our students’ nutritional, health and safety needs.
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What We Do
We believe involving families in our program is critical. To build a partnership between home and our center, we engage parents and guardians in regular celebrations, meetings and workshops that emphasize self-sufficiency. This home-center partnership allows us to work in tandem to instill positive character traits in children and prepare them to achieve successful outcomes.
YWCA Child Development Center’s child care hours are Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Holiday observances are listed in our family handbook. Before-school care and/or after-school programs may be available on an as-needed basisto working families and families who are furthering their education.
Licensed and Accredited
Our nationally accredited YWCA Child Development Center provides affordable child care to families in Birmingham and surrounding areas.
- To give our students the best head start in life, our center features nine early learning classrooms — two classrooms for each age range and one class that is a state pre-K classroom.
- Our program is licensed by the Alabama Department of Human Resources and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Less than 12 percent of the nation’s early childhood programs are NAEYC accredited, meeting all 10 quality standards.
- YWCA Child Development Center is also pursuing a high rating through the Alabama Quality STARS Quality Rating Improvement System.
Eligibility and Tuition
To learn about eligibility or to enroll a child, submit an application.
- A number of our families come to us through YWCA shelters and community shelters. Families experiencing homelessness may qualify for a rate of $0 with a letter from a shelter and income documentation.
- Families enrolled with a $0 rate will be evaluated after 90 days and provided with assistance on how to apply for child care subsidy prior to the end of the waived 90-day period.
- We have three primary partnering agencies — TCR Child Corporation, Childcare Resources or Child Care Central — that fund slots for children enrolled at YWCA Child Development Center.
- Income-eligible families are encouraged to apply through partner agencies for child care subsidy. Families who receive the subsidy will pay the difference in the tuition rate of $160 and the amount received as subsidy payment.
- The weekly rate is $160 for families that are not experiencing homelessness and/or do not qualify for child care subsidy. We also offer a discounted rate for YWCA Central Alabama employees.
