MATTOON - Judy Lamb learned the hard way that parents should do smarter shopping for child care.

A full-time instructor at the Lake Land College Child Care Lab, Lamb recalled how she once went with the first child care provider on the list for her daughter, who was not yet old enough for the facility at the community college.

"I made a mistake by taking her to the first one I came across. I thought it would work out. But she was having problems, and she was too young to tell me what was wrong," said Lamb, who now has 18 years of experience in day care. "Parents need to do research on this. Don't pick the first one. Research several."

But some parents are daunted by the challenges of finding a child care provider right for their youngster's needs. Sheila Hughes, director of the Lake Land facility, which mainly serves children of college students, faculty and staff and is a learning lab for child care students, agreed that parents should broaden their scope to ensure they are getting not only the most affordable and convenient child care, but the best in quality for their children.

Sometimes, family budget constraints place emphasis on cost and location for child care providers.

"The quality of programs should be the foremost factor on choosing a facility," Hugh said. "But if a single parent is out of work or going to college, then they are facing a challenge with higher gas prices and food bills. So they want to make it affordable, and that is understandable."

Hughes recommended that parents visit facilities they are considering before enrolling their children.

"Parents should use their instincts. They might get a feeling about the place when they go there," said Hughes, who has been director of the child care lab since 2000.

She offered a set of questions that Lake Land staff provides to parents looking for licensed or accredited child care providers in the area.

* Does the child care provider have an open-door policy on unscheduled parental visits for checking on child progress?

* Does the provider offer reasonable flexibility on picking up children outside set schedules?

* Does the curriculum offer enough in areas of development, including physical, intellectual, emotional and social, for readying children for kindergarten?

* Will the provider have an inclusive environment for children with special needs or physical challenges?

But many parents need help doing the legwork on picking child care. That's where the Child Care Resource and Referral at Eastern Illinois University comes in. Operated by the university's School of Family and Consumer Sciences, the resource and referral program offers information and referrals to families seeking assistance on child care in Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, Moultrie and Shelby counties. Last year, the referral service assisted 500 families by answering questions or distributing information.

"We have people reaching us by phone calls mostly, but we have a few walk-ins, too," said Tami Duzan, an administrative aid with Child Care Resource and Referral. "We cannot recommend. We only refer people to providers. We work with a list of 250 providers in the counties."

The fees are for services are as low as $30 per year. Families meeting low-income qualifications can have the fees waived.

Child Care Resource and Referral received national recognition for its efforts from the Child Care Award Consumer Education Quality Assurance Program. The award was announced last week by Eastern Illinois University officials.

"Child Care Resource and Referral is very proud to have achieved Quality Assurance for our services," said director Jill Bowers in a news release. "Since 1990 we have been helping families recognize, find and pay for high-quality child care. The national seal of approval proves we are succeeding."

Lamb believes the Lake Land Child Lab has received another kind of seal of approval from children once enrolled in the child care lab. Now, they are learning about day care through lab courses.

"I am working with the children from here now enrolled in the lab classes. Consistency helps. People know I'm going to be here day after day. Some places have heavy turnover," she said.

For more information on Child Care Resource and Referral services, call 1-800-545-7439, or log on to www.eiu.edu/~ccrr. Contact the Lake Land child care lab at 234-5295 or log on to www.lakelandcollege.edu and search for child care lab.

Herb Meeker can be reached at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.