By John Paul Marosy, President
Bringing Elder Care Home LLC
jpmarosy@charter.net
(508) 854-0431

Mt. Kisco Day Care Center and My Second Home, a program of Family Services of Westchester County (NY), have worked together in a partnership to create an intergenerational community in a building owned by Mt. Kisco Day Care Center. This intergenerational day care center serves up to 130 children and up to 50 frail older people per day and incorporates a variety of interactive activities involving children and elders. This is the second of two articles about the center. In the first article, we interviewed Maria Seton Ferris, manager of work/life and women's initiatives at IBM.*

"When you have babies in a child care center, sometimes they (the staff) just need an extra set of hands to rock a baby," says Dorothy Jordan, director of Mt. Kisco Day Care Center. djordan@mkdcc.org "Here's a whole population of senior adults that would love that opportunity to hold a child. So, we'll bring some seniors in and they spend time in the baby room - all supervised by both senior care staff and child care staff. It is certainly a very safe environment.

The center was built with community dollars, according to Jordan. "It was a real joint effort - a true collaboration of private and public funds." The board of directors of the Mt. Kisco Day Care Center spearheaded the development effort that pooled funds from the State of New York, the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care (ABC), family foundations, and individual contributions. IBM, an ABC champion company, provided a start-up grant. Local municipal support also played an important role, according to Jordan. The town allowed a tax exemption and supported the project through its entire development process, starting in 1998 and culminating with the opening of the center in May 2002.

The adult day center charges families $58 for up to eight hours per day of services and can arrange door-to-door transportation (including assistance from the home to and from the specially equipped van) for $16 per round trip within Westchester county, according to Lois Pellegrino, director of My Second Home. Medicaid payment is accepted and low income families comprise about half of all families using the center for either child care or elder care.

The center's staff see three generations deriving benefits from child care and adult day offered under one roof. "For young children, it gives them an opportunity to interact with older adults. They may not have that opportunity in their own lives. In many of the families, the grandparents do not live in the local area. And about 40% of our parents are of minority population and many of their families do not live in the same country… it's a wonderful opportunity to have the experience of in-house grandparents."

Jordan says she sees positive results. "For children who have poor social skills and are not able to relate to their own peer group, sometimes having the opportunity to see a senior all by themselves gives them extra confidence," she said. "The seniors provide support and role-modeling, giving them the attention they need, making it a little easier (for the child) to go back to a group setting."

Spontaneity Is Key

"The true goal is to create strong relationships, a strong bond," said Jordan. Sometimes, spontaneous activities get the best results. For example, the toddler group regularly visits with the seniors during the last 15 minutes of their exercise time. "The children bring their music and they and the seniors dance together. Here you have adult seniors, many of them frail, some sitting in chairs, some standing up, doing the chicken dance or the hokey-pokey. This activity was initiated by one of the child care teachers just saying 'Can we come and visit?' The seniors just ate it up!"

"The seniors are often excited about sharing tasks, says Lois Pellegrino, director of My Second Home. "And the children love to help out… even with activities as simple as holding a ball or passing it from one to another. The kids are excited about helping elders. They really do learn from one another."

The parents of the children - and the adult children of the older people - feel the benefits, too. Jordan quotes one parent as saying "I just love the energy of this place! I always feel so positive! My son comes home and talks about spending time with the 'grandparents.'" One employee in a "sandwich generation" situation (i.e., responsible for the care of an older parent and young daughter) makes use of the center for both dependents. She drops off the parent in the morning. The daughter arrives at the center via her school bus, so she can participate in the after-school program.

Challenges to Overcome

The biggest challenge is getting people to take advantage of the program, according to Pellegrino. She says that family members are often wary when they first hear of an "intergenerational day center. "There's a realization that takes place when they understand that this simply means young and old interacting together. They warm up. We'll often hear the adult children of the elders say, 'Oh! My parents love children!'

The attitudes of some adult children of elders present another challenge. They may feel uncomfortable in the presence of frail older people, according to Pellegrino. "It's a mirror that many baby boomers don't like," she says. "Very often, they are caught up in concerns about their own good looks as they age. They are healthy and vital and they don't want to see that aspect of aging that can include decline in health."

Pellegrino sees the center planting seeds for a more positive view of aging in the future. "By exposing children to this aspect of life, we're hoping to influence their attitudes toward older people and aging in a positive way. Our hope is that this upcoming generation of children will be a generation that is not ageist in this way. And that will certainly be a plus for all the baby boomers who are going to need some help from their children in the future."

Announcing - New Presentation! Elder Care and Work: The Boomer Balancing Act You can bring this dynamic and informative presentation by John Paul Marosy to your management team, association conference, or community forum. Call or email us today for the details at (508) 854-0431 or jpmarosy@bringingeldercarehome.com. We also offer skills-building seminars and a train-the-trainer conference. Contact us today!

Editor's Note: In the January 2004 edition of "Elder Care/Work Balance," we erroneously reported that the intergenerational day care center opened in May 2001. It actually opened in May 2002. The center is not the first shared-site intergenerational program of its kind in the northeastern U.S. It is the first program of its kind in Westchester County, NY.

John Paul Marosy
Editor and President,
Bringing Elder Care Home, LLC

John Paul Marosy is the author of Elder Care: A Six Step Guide to Balancing Work and Family, available from Bringing Elder Care Home Publishing online at www.bringingeldercarehome.com or by calling 508-854-0431.

This newsletter may be reprinted in whole or in part so long as the author, John Paul Marosy, is credited and the Web site address, www.bringingeldercarehome.com, is provided.