Right now, a sticker on the kids' room window denotes the state license. (Annie Ropeik/KUCB)

The community center is getting rid of its state child care license, which officials say has been more of a hindrance than a help for years.

The state has granted PCR an exemption from its license as a child care center.

PCR director D. Tyrell McGirt says the exemption will give them more flexibility with two daily after-school programs: the one for first through fourth graders, and Kindercamp, for kindergarteners.

Right now, McGirt says those programs operate like day care, when they should be more like day camp.

"We feel like not being under the auspices of state guidelines, that we can be of more service to more of the youth here in Unalaska," he says.

PCR staff first applied for the license years ago. That was before McGirt’s time.

"The best I can gather is that staff at that time felt like it was important to kind of make official everything PCR was doing at the time, to probably have more of a professional, polished program," he says.

But he says the license isn’t aimed toward parks and recreation facilities -- it’s more geared toward private day care centers.

PCR is already has to follow city policies, since they’re a city department. McGirt says the license means they have to duplicate a lot of procedures for the state -- like background checks for new employees.

"It just so happens with their practices, it’s a lot more paperwork involved," he says.

So being exempt will ease the workload for staff -- and give them room to expand, enrolling more kids and bringing the after-school programs in line with everything else that goes on at PCR.

"After-school programming that we will offer will look a lot like cooking classes for youth or sports leagues for youth or anything that we are currently doing outside of the after-school program or Kindercamp program," he says. "It will kind of function like a normal recreation program."

That means one other change parents should know about: Now, they’ll be responsible for their kids even when those kids are under PCR supervision at the after-school programs.

That’s already the case everywhere else in the community center. But under the state license, PCR technically assumed care of the after-school kids. McGirt says that’s not what their programs are designed for.

"We still have an adult supervision," he says. "We still do our due diligence and make sure that kids are looked after, but ultimately the parent is responsible."

Sandy Delasllagas is after-school second grader Oliver’s mom. She says she knew the kids’ room was a licensed center, thanks to the certificate posted by the door. But she’s figured she was responsible for Oliver all along -- so the exemption won’t be a big change.

"I knew he was my responsibility," Delasllagas says. "I knew that they had someone watching him, but ultimately it was my responsibility to get him anywhere he needed to go or if something happened to him. So I don’t think it would affect my decision, or anything at all."

That’s as long as the program keeps going, she says -- and it will, through the end of the school year and then next year under the new exemption. That kicks in June 2.

This story has been updated.