Two-thirds of Licensed Centers in Jackson County, Mississippi,
Damaged or Destroyed
 |
|
Jackson County, MS,
Licensed Child Care Centers
Post-Hurricane Katrina. Click on map for
larger view |
SEPT.
15, 2005 | A telephone and door-to-door survey of licensed child
care providers in Jackson County, Mississippi, yesterday and
today revealed that Hurricane Katrina damaged approximately
one-fourth of the county’s child care centers beyond repair,
while another 39 percent are reopening but need repairs.
The Mississippi State University (MSU) Early Childhood Institute
conducted the survey, covering the communities of Pascagoula,
Moss Point, Ocean Springs, Gautier, Vancleave and Hurley,
finding some buildings completely destroyed and many others
where providers were struggling to reopen in spite of flooding
or structural damage to their facilities.
Across the zone of Katrina damage, more than 3,000 licensed
child care centers in the worst-hit counties of Alabama,
Mississippi, and Louisiana may need help to reopen. A check of
the three states’ lists of licensed centers finds 3,045 centers
in the counties that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has
declared eligible for public assistance.
Obtaining clear information about the condition of centers
through telephone calls is difficult.
“Many of these providers will tell us, ‘Oh, yes, we have
reopened because these families need us,’ but when we probe a
little they add, ‘some of our rooms were damaged by water and we
are having to throw out our materials and clean to remove
mold,’” Cathy Grace, Ed.D., director of the MSU Early Childhood
Institute, said. “One director told us, ‘I still have not found
my sliding boards. They must be in the next town down the
road.’”
Grace and
Annjo Lemons of the MSU
institute surveyed the providers with the help of Amy
Brandenstein of
Chevron. Chevron operates an oil refinery at Pascagoula
in Jackson County and provided logistical support for the
survey.
The results of their survey are in a new
map
from the Rural Early Childhood Atlas. Rural Early Childhood and
the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) launched the atlas
last week, two months ahead
of schedule, to support planning and resource allocation in
response to Katrina. Rural Early Childhood is the National
Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives, part of
the MSU Early Childhood Institute.
The MSU Early Childhood Institute is collaborating with
NACCRRA, a national
network of child care resource and referral agencies, to survey
providers in all Mississippi counties declared eligible for
disaster relief by the Federal Emergency Management Association.
More details from Pascagoula will appear on this site soon.
46 Blackjack Road / P.O. Box 6013 / Mississippi State, MS /
39762
The contents of this web site were developed under a grant from
the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do
not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of
Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal
Government.
To subscribe to an occasional newsletter, send an e-mail message
with “subscribe ruralec” in the subject line to
ruralearlychildhood@aristotle.net.
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message with “unsubscribe ruralec”
in the subject line to the same address.
Contact
Rural Early Childhood
with questions about the Rural Early Childhood site.
© 2004-2006 Mississippi State University
Updated
12/01/2006
