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To nurture discipleship in families with younger children, St. Gabriel offers childcare to support parents on-campus participating in ministry programs or praying during scheduled times. (See Calendar). Participants of weekly or bi-weekly ministry programs can RSVP for regular childcare use during their seasonal ministry registration. Childcare is then available first-come as a walk-up or by inquiring about availability with the Early Childhood Programs Coordinator the week before. There is no direct fee to childcare participants for most programs, although free-will donations are necessary to cover the expenses of the paid childcare workers.
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Contact
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Early Childhood Coordinatorlnicholsstgabriel.orgLaurie Nichols
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FAQ's
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A: When someone registers for their weekly or bi-weekly ministry program, they should identify that they plan to regularly use childcare. Contact your ministry team leader, group leader, or the Early Childhood Programs Coordinator for a link to the Gabe's Kids Childcare RSVP.
Please contact the Early Childhood Programs Coordinator to "un-RSVP" for the special times that you don't plan to utilize the childcare service so your spot opens up for other children.
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Q: No. Parents are not to leave the campus while a child is in ministries childcare.
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A: A calendar is created by the ECP Coordinator (in collaboration with the Children's Ministry Director and Director of Ministries) that serves the major peak times of ministry. The calendar is created and published prior to each fall, spring, and summer season.
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A: Serving of food or snacks is subject to the discretion of ECP Coordinator based on the amount of time the childcare is used and allergies present
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A: It is encouraged for ministries to first consider scheduling a meeting during the scheduled calendared times. However, when this is not possible, it may be possible for a ministry leader to schedule Gabe's Kids childcare outside of the scheduled calendar. This is called "Gabe's Kids 'Special Event' Childcare". There are two types of "Special Event Childcare":
- Pre-Approved & Budgeted Special Events: Events that are planned, budgeted, and are approved in advance by a ministry team with a budget during the annual budget cycle.
- Special Request Special Event: All other ministry groups and teams that are not pre-approved/budgeted for the current fiscal year can still request Gabe's Kids Special Event Childcare for their ministry gathering and can be scheduled depending on availability and funding.
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A: Ministry Leaders can inquire about special event childcare from the Early Childhood Programs Coordinator by completing this form:
REQUEST GABE'S KIDS CHILDCARE FOR SPECIAL EVENTS
The ECP Coordinator will discuss 1) schedule/time, 2) the anticipated number of children, 3) RSVP methods, and how 4) the cost of ministry childcare will be covered. (See Covering the Cost of Gabe's Kids Childcare)
The request will be reviewed. The ECP Coordinator will approve after confirming the availability of childcare workers, funds, and that the schedule is conflict-free. The ECP Coordinator will set max and min limits, ages, cancellation policy, final hours (2-hour min), and any other guidelines.
It is recommended to make the request as soon as possible to help ensure childcare workers can be scheduled. Only after approval, should a ministry leader promote the availability of childcare.
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Quick Answer: Parish stewardship and donations cover the cost of the "Weekly Scheduled" and "Pre-Approved & Budgeted Gabe's Kids Special Event Childcare". "Gabe's Kids Special Event Childcare" expenses are covered by the ministry/ministry participants. See "How can I donate to the Gabe's Kids Childcare program?".
Detailed Answer: While the church pays childcare workers, there is not a direct “fee” charged to users or a ministry for Weekly Schedule or Pre-Approved Gabe's Kids Special Event Childcare. A freewill donation system is set-up to help cover our expenses. We do budget 50% of the childcare expenses to be covered through special donations outside of the parish’s Stewardship Giving, so childcare-specific donations are necessary. Ministry leaders with participants using childcare will be asked to share and encourage donation opportunities to participants, and possibly, at times, share statistics on how well we are doing at covering the cost of childcare – giving awareness for donation needs and giving opportunity. This allows those to donate according to their ability. The expense and budget will be revisited annually during budget season to evaluate the effectiveness, viability, and utilization of the childcare service.
Ministries requesting Gabe's Kids Special Event Childcare that was not approved in the annual budget cycle will be asked to describe their plan to cover childcare expenses and are to pre-pay prior to the event. Preference is for the plan to be through user donation, existing budgeted funds, or existing fund-raising, and not new unbudgeted or special fund-raising efforts.
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A: Donations for Gabe's Kids Childcare is accepted here: Childcare Donations
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