They have the littlest hands and often the greatest need.
And now these tiny tikes, children of mostly migrant and seasonal farm workers, have a new spot to call their own.
Centro de la Familia, a nonprofit organization specializing in educational and social services for needy rural children, celebrated the grand opening of its newest center last Friday.
Situated on Holden’s Main Street, the facility is located in a newly renovated storefront, the old John Wood General Merchandise building, purchased by the organization last December.
Inside are new classrooms, a kitchen, administrative offices, and accoutrements of a typical preschool setting. There’s room for an expansion already planned and a playground yet built that supervisors say will feature lots of trees and nature for the kids to interact with during outdoor playtime.
A Head Start program, health screening and other social services are available on site, too, all meant to serve the needs of children as young as newborn babies up to 5 years old.
Gonzalo Palza, Centro’s CEO, said his is the only program in the state funded to serve the needs of children of migrant and seasonal agriculture workers.
He said previously Centro partnered with daycare center Kid Depot in Delta to provide such services.
That partnership, he said, became more and more difficult to maintain, though the split was amicable.
Striking out on their own made more sense, Palza said. With seven centers in Utah as well as facilities in Colorado and Nevada, Centro already serves about 1,200 children. Holden’s center can serve up to 18 today and as many as 32 when expansion plans are completed.
“What we are known for is not just serving the children, but getting parents engaged in their children’s education,” Palza told Holden townsfolk who came out for the grand opening. “We think if parents are not engaged in the early stages of the child’s development that the child will not have the same opportunities” as their peers.
Though all of the children are U.S. citizens, many of their parents are seasonal workers from parts of Latin America. Many of the children are born into Spanish-speaking homes, Palza said. Centro prides itself on providing Spanish-speaking instructors and a bilingual education to its young clients.
“We ensure every graduate from our program can read and write at grade level by the third grade. Hopefully, perfectly bilingual, too,” he said.
Palza said about 15 percent of the children Centro serves also have special needs, making health and wellness services a key part of Centro’s mission.
“We screen them. We make sure that they have their vaccinations…we will pay for everything,” he said.
Funding for Centro’s work is part of a $19 billion program managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Palza said Centro is one of a dozen grantees in Utah, but the only one specializing in serving migrant working families.
The organization has been in operation since 1975, Palza its chief executive the last 16 years.
Holden’s is the latest Centro center, one of seven similar facilities in rural Utah—the nonprofit has operations in Sanpete, Cache, Utah and Box Elder counties as well as in Colorado and Nevada.
About 20 staff members work out of the Holden center, including one instructor for every four children. Instructors typically must have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree to be considered for employment. Staffers will typically also need to be certified in early childhood development.
Alberta Loosle, Centro’s area manager and education director, said the center is currently hiring a teaching assistant and a center aide to help out.
“We are hiring,” she said.
Asked if the center accepts volunteers, Palza said it does, so long as they pass a background check. Typically, the center will receive help from community members who wish to help watch kids or do maintenance type work around the facility’s grounds.
Centro also accepts donations, including food. The kids there are fed two meals and a snack five days a week.
A school bus picks children up in the morning, brings them to the center and then returns them by bus in the afternoon.
Loosle said there are spots available still for a few new students—space is limited by federal requirements related to square footage, Palza said.
Parents must qualify based on income—migrant working parents must earn at least 51 percent of their income from agriculture—to enroll their children in Centro’s programs.
For more information on Centro’s work, go online to www.cdlf.org. For information specific to the new Holden Center, call 385-423-4043.
