Wesley Daycare Continues a 50+ Year Mission
Over half-a-century ago, Wesley United Methodist Church took the bold step of creating a space in their facilities for a daycare. Under the direction of church leadership, the fulfillment of the church’s mission to care for children became a reality on March 25, 1974.
Rooms were set aside on the lower level of the Wesley Church, located at 1212 West Calhoun in Macomb, for the initial enrollment of 30 children of various ages.
In the 52 years of its history, the day care now known as the Wesley Christian Child Development Center (WCCDC) has provided early care for thousands of area youngsters. Over the years, the age groups being served have fluctuated. At present, WCCDC provides services for children ages six weeks through 12 years old.
Marci Weiss serves as the current director of the daycare. She has a background in pre-K teaching with an associate degree from Illinois Community College in East Peoria. She served as a preschool teacher and nursery director at Crossroads United Methodist Church in Washington, Illinois, and later, Weiss worked at PACT (Parent and Teacher Together)/Head Start located on University Drive in Macomb and at the PACT Head Start program in Beardstown, followed by t seven years as a special education paraprofessional in the Astoria school system, from which she graduated high school. She then joined the staff at Wesley working with two-year-olds/toddlers and followed them through to their next levels. She was appointed director of WCCDC in August 2024.
Serving as assistant director is Cassy Jacobs. She earned an associate degree in early childhood education from Carl Sandburg College and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Kendall College in Chicago. She is a trainer in the Pyramid Model, which supports social and emotional competence in infants and young children. Additionally, she is certified in CLASS, a tool teachers use to build classroom communities, and is a mental health consultant in Illinois. She is currently working on her master’s degree in social work and certification in mental health and early childhood support. Before coming to WCCDC about a year ago, Jacobs worked at the West Central Head Start program serving Knox, Warren and Henderson counties. She originally hails from the Monmouth, Illinois area. Altogether, she has has 22 years of experience in childhood education and services and assumed assistant director duties in 2025.
According to Weiss, the administrative team would like to see more outreach to the community to assist families of all income levels in finding safe and suitable child care. A significant goal is to help children develop socialization skills in a learning environment as preparation for kindergarten and elementary school.
Currently, the center has a teaching staff of 18, including aides. Along with Weiss and Jacobs, the center has a cook and two janitors, along with assistance from the Wesley United Methodist custodial staff. Teachers are required to obtain 15 hours of professional development each year.
Paula Ogle, one of the teachers, will be honored Thursday, Feb. 12, for having served as an educator for 25 years with WCCDC, nearly half the lifetime of the daycare facility. If anyone would like to send her congratulations, they can do so by emailing [email protected] or by sending cards to Wesley United Methodist Church, 1212 West Calhoun St., Macomb, and the messages will be collected and given to her the day of celebration.
One would think that with Western Illinois University and Spoon River College nearby, more students would have learning opportunities at the daycare. However, Weiss noted that few college students are involved due to the extensive requirements by DCFS that can make student involvement less feasible.
Funding
WCCDC derives its operating funds from three primary sources: tuition payments, grants and government assistance programs.
The daycare also receives support from a Wesley United Methodist Church designated fund. Tuition rates are as follows: infants up to 2 years of age, $210 a week; from 2 to preschool, $195 a week; from pre-K up to 12 years of age, $180.
Weiss supplied information about two grants for which the daycare applies.
One is the Smart Start Workforce Grant, “a multi-year plan to provide every child with access to preschool, to increase funding for child care works to raise wages and classroom quality, and to reach more vulnerable families with support.” Another grant is Child Care Resource & Referral (CCRR). It reimbursed teachers’ CPR class fees for fall of 2025. CCRR of Midwestern Illinois is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 social services agency, part of the statewide network of child care resources and referral agencies. It is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services and is part of the Child Care Aware national network of Child Care Resource and Referral agencies.
Federal Freezing of Funds A January 23, 2026, report in the Community News Brief outlined how other daycares in Macomb would be impacted by the federal government’s freezing of $10 billion of child care funding in five Democratic states, Illinois, California, Colorado, Minnesota and New York.
Wesley daycare will also be impacted by this action.
“It would be a big thing,” said Weiss. “What do parents do if they don’t have a way to pay?”
Policy decisions at the federal level affect the operation of all large scale daycares in the area. Claims have been made of “systemic” fraud and the possibility of non-citizens or those not legally eligible for subsidies receiving daycare assistance. At present, the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) guidelines do not require immigration status to be disclosed for child care. According to the DCFS document “Non-Regulatory Guidelines on Immigration Enforcement Actions at Day Care Facilities,” dated 17 October 2025, “In Illinois, daycare services must be provided regardless of race, color, national origins, citizenship status, or immigration status. Information about a family’s immigration status is not required to enroll a child for daycare service.”
In addition, “CCDBG regulations clarify that the child is the primary beneficiary of CCDBG; therefore, only a child’s citizenship or immigration status is relevant for eligibility determination.
... Federal TANF assistance is generally denied to qualified immigrants during their first five years in the U.S.
After that five-year period, qualified immigrants may be eligible for TANF child care.
Many states use state funds to provide TANF services to immigrants during the first five years.”
CCDBG is a federal program providing child care subsidies to low-income working families with $8.75 million in discretionary funding for FY2025. It is part of the broader CCDF federal program.
Ultimately, the question facing local child care facilities, in regard to federal funding, is not who is eligible but who pays. Or in the present situation, in which states the families live.
WCCDC Programs
As of January 20, the Wesley daycare has seven rooms for the range of ages of children and the number of children in each class: Room 1; Little Lambs (infants), 8; Room 2, The Shining Stars (infants-5); Room 3, The Mountain (toddlers), 3; Room 4, The Honeycomb (twos), 4; Room 5, The Ark (twos), 8; Room 6, The Forrest (preschool), 17; and Room 7, The Lighthouse (school age), 17.
Various activities are planned for 2026: February: Reading night with guest readers. Date TBD.
April 6-10: Book Fair May 8: Muffins with Mom May 15: Pre-K Graduation June 19: Donuts with Dad August 7: End of Summer Carnival October 23: Halloween December 18: Christmas program The social dynamic of our society is changing.
A significant increase in families needing child care services is growing, and so too is the increasing costs of providing those services.
Wesley Christian Child Development Center has committed itself to do its part in helping children develop skills and attitudes for success as well as in helping families navigate the turbulent waters of raising children.
