CDC “ups its game”

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  More families are being served with less wait time at the Child Development Center here, due to the number of employees nearly doubling since last summer.

"Manpower began increasing after the school year started and more parents were willing to go back to work, tied with the new usafejobs.com [Web] site that has truly helped to market jobs to a wider audience," said Karen Lang Chief of Child Development Center West. "Now that our manning is at approximately 90 to 95 percent level we are able to have 100 percent of our classrooms open for the first time in three years."

The center currently employs 60 people, up from approximately 30 in the summer. They provide child care options for children ages six weeks until they enter kindergarten. Mrs. Lang said they provide the children with routines, activities and interactions that encourage social, emotional, language, cognitive learning and motor skills.

The center also supports the "Give Parents a Break Program," a program that grants some parents five hour sessions of free childcare, to give them a break. Parents interested in the program should contact the CDC Director, Airman and Family Readiness Center or their First Sergeant.

The CDC is well manned now, and to keep it that way, Mrs. Lang is forecasting open vacancies; "several key employees [are moving to their next assignments] from May until August and we are recruiting now to fill these spaces."

"[To work at the CDC] a love of children is key," she said. "This is not the place to work if you are just looking for a job. As I tell my staff, the average child in our care spends over 2,250 hours per year in our facility; this is a big part of their life and we have to make sure they are in a great facility surrounded by caring, hardworking, people who love kids."

To apply for a position at the CDC, applicants should visit either the http://www.usafejobs.com or http://www.usajobs.gov Web sites. They could also visit the Human Resources Office in the Military Personnel Flight Building.