Costa Rica's President Chinchilla Launches National Daycare Program

 Costa Rica's first female president, Laura Chinchilla, officially launched the National Daycare Network with a pledge of ¢ 890 million ($1.8 million) to the poorest communities in ten Costa Rica areas.
 
 The money is expected to help care for 400 children under five years old, enabling their parents to work outside the home.
 
 The effort is much more than just a push to open more day care centers, Chinchilla said at a press conference. The idea of this Costa Rica network is to reach children at a critical stage in their development so that every Costa Rican starts life with the same opportunities.
 
 Early childcare is an area in which Costa Rica continues to have many shortcomings, she said.
 
 The money will be used to expand existing facilities such as community homes and government-run daycare centers. Loans will be available so that more women can operate daycare center businesses from their homes.
 
 The plan is being introduced as part of a larger agenda of reducing extreme poverty in Costa Rica by a full 10 percent, Chinchilla said.
 
 At present, aid arrives to poor homes in pieces. Sometimes a son or daughter can get a scholarship, other times a parent receives job training, but what these families need, Chinchilla said, is an integrated push from all sides to get them on their feet.
 
 By bringing aid to communities in an integral way, she hopes to permanently reduce poverty in Costa Rica.
 
 In keeping with this coordinated approach, the ten Costa Rica areas where the administration is focusing the daycare initiative are also the focus of the poverty relief plan. These include Los Chiles, Guatuso, Upala, La Cruz, Santa Cruz, Nicoya, Cartago, Curridabat, Heredia and San Jose in the Central Valley.