The group’s childcare program was originally created to ease the burden on healthcare professionals. Now, the free service for kids enrolled in kindergarten through 6th grade is available for all frontline workers thanks to a grant from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation.
Major Michael Halverson, the Salvation Army’s Treasure Valley Coordinator, says safety is a top priority of the program. He says they are following strict social distancing guidelines, including limiting classroom sizes to eight students.
"They would keep separate so that there's no interacting and so if something happens in one classroom, then it doesn't spread to the others," said Halverson.
The program also recognized the need for care for younger children. Now, services for infants to pre-K will be offered at a reduced cost.
Sixteen children are currently enrolled in the K-6 program, but Major Halverson says they have space for 40.
“So we're looking forward to having all those classes packed up," said Halverson.
Childcare is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for younger children and 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for ages K-6. Anyone who is interested can enroll online here.
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