Bananas

Bananas has been offering residents of Northern Alameda County child care resources and referral services since 1973. They help parents and caregivers find child care and children's services in their communities. Part of their services are to develop new resources and maintain existing ones. They also provide counseling to help manuever the task of choosing child care. Their support is offered in many different languages so if English is not your first language, Bananas can communicate to you in your native tongue via written materials, workshops, support groups, and an advice line. They offer their services in the following languages: Amharic, Tigrigna, Cambodian, Chinese, English, French, Laotian, Mien, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese.

Programs and Services

They offer a wide range of child rearing and child development information. This information is given in the form of pamphlets, newsletters, a lending library of over 500 books and videos, and a 3,000 book reference library.

Bananas offers free workshops that cater to various needs of parents. Topics range from, Be the Dad Your Child Needs, to Living with Threes and Fours, to ESL for Caregivers. Some workshops offer free childcare but most require a $5 fee.

Bananas provides referrals to child care providers and more than 1,200 licensed child care facilities. They cover care options such as Family Child Care Homes, Child Care Centers, In-home Caregivers (nannies and babysitters), Shares, Playgroups, Exchanges, and Co-ops. If you require additional help, they have a Child Care Referral Phone Line for personal service.

Some parents need a little help paying for child care, which is called subsidized child care. Bananas helps educate parents about the programs in Northern Alameda County which provide help to low income individuals.

Bananas helps parents who are dealing with crisis situations. Special programs are in place for short-term emergency child care. Pre-crisis counseling and referrals to other children's services are also offered.

General Information

For general information about any of their services, visit or call them at 510.658.7353. Their hours of operation are:

Monday, Wednesday & Thursday: 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Tuesday: 9:30 am - 8:00 pm
Friday from 9:30 am - 1 pm

For child care referrals, call 510.658.0381. The hours of operation for the child care referral line are:

Monday through Thursday: 10 am - 4 pm
Tuesday: 5 pm - 8 pm
Friday: 10 am - 1 pm

Address
5232 Claremont Avenue
Oakland, CA 94618

Website
http://bananasinc.org/index.php