Naval Base Coronado Opens New Child and Youth 24/7 Center

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Dominique Pineiro, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

CORONADO, Calif. (NNS) -- Naval Base Coronado officials hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony May 24 to unveil the new Child and Youth 24/7 Center on board Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, Calif.

The center is open all hours of the day and is intended to provide care to children of single and dual-military shift-working parents and children of Department of Defense employees. The center specifically seeks to help people who work rotating shifts on the weekends, or extended or non-traditional hours in support of the Navy's mission.

"About two to three years ago, we didn't even have a child development center," said Capt. Yancy Lindsey, commanding officer of Naval Base Coronado. "Opening this is an invaluable service for the families. We ask (parents) to work odd hours in the evening and the weekends so to have a facility where they can drop their kids off and get quality care on the same installation where they're working is very convenient."

Christine Swind, the Child and Youth 24/7 Center director, said the facility offers a much needed service to parents by combining the strengths of in-home care and traditional daycare centers.

According to Swind, the center has many staff members to supervise the children in a larger social environment to ensure each child is on the right developmental path.

"We use creative curriculum to help the children meet all their developmental milestones, and that's the primary goal," she said. "We're able to provide a service that you really can't find anywhere else."

In addition to the development services offered at the center, Swind said it gives the children a "home away from home" feeling.

"Each child will have their own bed, and we give the children three meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with snacks in between," said Swind. "We try to offer all the comforts of home."

The San Diego Child and Youth 24/7 Center houses up to 20 children, from ages 1 – 12, at any given time. Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, groundbreaking took place April 15, 2010. The $2 million building is the first 24/7 center to open on the West Coast.