Preschool chain offers free childcare to parents going to job interviews

A Valley mom is facing charges because police say she left her children inside a car while she went into an office for a job interview. Shanesha Taylor, 35, claims she had no choice, because she’s homeless and had nowhere for her children to go.

The president of Sunrise preschools said it didn’t have to be that way.

“All 25 locations (of Sunrise Preschool) are happy to offer up to four hours of totally free childcare for parents who need childcare during an interview,” said Dana Vela.

She said that parents are required to give 24 hours notice before bringing their children in for the service.

“And they need to come in probably 15 to 30 minutes early to drop off,” Vela said. “That’s because there’s paperwork to fill out that includes their emergency contact information. They also need to bring in their child’s immunizations.”

If you don’t have your own phone, you can leave someone else’s number as an emergency contact.

“It could be a friend or family member,” said Vela.

“Some families even leave us a case worker as an emergency contact, or a church member. They can leave us information for other people that would agree, for that four-hour period, to be the child’s emergency contact.”

Vela said that Sunrise does not police where the parents go after they drop their child off. “If you tell me that you need for me to keep your child for that four hours so that you can go on a job interview, then I’m going to choose to believe it,” Vela said.

She said the preschools have been offering the service for over two years, and have never had a problem.

Vela said that the purpose of the offer is to offer a safe place for children to stay while their parents are looking for work.