EARLY LEARNING

YMCA logoYMCA – Our Cause: At the Y, strengthening community is our cause. We believe that lasting personal and social change can only come about when we all work together to invest in our kids, our health and our neighbors. That’s why we focus our work in three areas: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

We believe all children have potential and should have the opportunity to discover who they are, express themselves, and be nurtured in all their possibility.

With so many demands on today’s families and the increased focus on early brain development,
families need all the support they can get to nurture the potential of youth. That’s why child care and early learning programs at the Y focus on holistically nurturing child development by providing a safe and healthy place to learn foundational skills, develop healthy trusting relationships, and build self-reliance through the Y values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility.

At the Y, babies develop trust and security, preschoolers experience early literacy and learn about their world, and school-age kids make friends, learn new skills and do homework. Most importantly, children learn how to be their best selves. That makes for confident kids today, and contributing and engaged adults tomorrow.

The Y is proud to be a collaborative community partner ensuring families have high quality and affordable child care and preschool programs available to them. You are welcome any time, scheduled or unscheduled, to come and tour any of locations and visit your child.

The Mahaska Early Learning Program is a licensed Child Care Center & Preschool through the Iowa Department of Human Services. The DHS/Childcare Licensing Standards and Procedures and DHS Licensing Rules can be found here. Our DHS Licensing Consultant is Jill Seibert, Child Care Center Licensing Consultant, Wapello County DHS Office, 641.684.3949.

Feel free to contact us for a tour of any or all of our locations:

Oskaloosa Elementary School
1801 Orchard Avenue
Oskaloosa
641.673.8092


Oskaloosa Early Childhood Center
1521 Green Street
Oskaloosa
641.676.7700


Mahaska County YMCA
414 N Third Street
Oskaloosa
641.673.8411



The Mahaska County YMCA participates in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). CACFP is a nutrition education and meal reimbursement program helping providers serve nutritious and safely prepared meals and snacks to children in child care settings thus playing a vital role in improving the quality of child care. Each day, 3.2 million children receive nutritious meals and snacks through CACFP. As a participating center, we are required to following USDA and Iowa policies regarding discrimination and civil rights.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
  3. email:
    program.intake@usda.gov

Iowa Nondiscrimination Statement: “It is the policy of this CNP provider not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or religion in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code section 216.6, 216.7 and 216.9. If you have questions or grievances related to compliance with this policy by this CNP Provider, please contact the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, Grimes State Office Building, 400 E. 14th St., Des Moines, IA 50319-1004; phone number 515-281-4121, 800-457-4416; web site: https://icrc.iowa.gov/.”