Economic Development Program >espaÑol<

In its 14 years of existence, El Centro has dedicated itself to the empowerment of the Dominican/Latina women of its community and to this end is engaged in personal, educational and economic development programs that affect these residents of the communities of Washington Heights/Inwood.

El Centro does not subscribe to the recipient model of service delivery. Instead, it promotes self-sufficiency and shared-ownership and encourages women to become agents of change in their own lives

Home Health Aide Training Program

In a joint venture with the Cooperative Home Care Associates and Progressive Inc., El Centro prepares Washington Heights/Inwood residents to provide personal care and perform health related tasks to those in need of these skills, such as the acute and chronically ill, elderly, mentally ill and children.

Their training consists of a 105-hour course that instructs them in various job-related tasks. Upon completion of the training, participants are immediately placed in jobs with the respective companies earning from $ 6.50 to $7.50 an hour including health and other fringe benefits. At the Cooperative Home Care Associates, after 3 months of employment, employees have the right to buy company shares and enjoy their portion of the profits.

Happy Kids Family Day Care Network

Happy Kids is a training program which helps women become home-based, family day care providers and monitors participants to ensure quality of service and access to administrative and professional support. The program is highly successful, serving participants from the Washington Heights/Inwood areas for the past seven years.

The participants in this program are provided an integral training curriculum, which includes units on:

  • Child Development
  • Health and Safety skills and procedures
  • Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse
  • Practical Business Skills for Family Day Care Providers.