Mayor Keller Kicks Off City Summer Programs, Providing Childcare for Thousands of Working Families

June 8, 2020

Mayor Tim Keller and City of Albuquerque officials announced the start of child, youth and summer programs today, highlighting their critical importance as a source of childcare for working families and the central role summer programs play in the focus on advancing equity. The modified summer programs will operate following COVID-safe practices to continue the public health progress Albuquerque has made in fighting the Coronavirus pandemic.

“We are one of the largest child, youth and summer care providers in the state—and those summer programs keep kids and families engaged and support neighborhoods that have long been marginalized,” said Mayor Keller. “We also know these programs help diverse youth build resumes and employment history as they work to strengthen the Albuquerque community. In the past when we’ve used the phrase ‘fighting crime from all sides,’ what we talked about was investing in proactive approaches to preventing crime and making our communities healthier, because a healthy community is a safe community.”

Mayor Keller also announced that the City is planning to hire youth to work on peer-to-peer outreach as part of the Rapid Accountability Diversion program run by Tonya Covington.

The City has hired about 400 young people to help run the summer programs. Last year, 76% of those hired to work summer programs were youth of color.

COVID-safe practices in place at each program site include:

• Limiting overall attendance, strictly following CDC guidelines and State public health orders on gathering sizes
• Separated classrooms and lower student-teacher ratios
• Sign-in and reservation requirements to enable contact tracing in the event of an outbreak
• Staff and youth wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and facilities will be regularly and extensively cleaned
• Carefully managed pick-up and drop-off
• Daily screening, including temperature testing

Programs and facilities operating as of Monday include:

• Child Development Centers
• Virtual Library Summer Reading
• Community Center youth programs
• Multi-Generational Center youth programs
• BioPark programs at the Zoo, Botanic Gardens and Heritage Farm
• Playground Recreation Programs
• Public pool lap swim and swim teams
• Explora education program
• Museum school
• Most libraries (for basic services only)
• Summer meals (limited sites, grab-and-go style)
• Open Space Summer Youth Corps
• Mayor’s Creative Youth Corps
• Playgrounds to open with disinfecting protocols in place

You can also find information about the City’s Summer Meal Program here: https://www.cabq.gov/family/community-centers/youth-food-service-program