History

Child Care Resource & Referral in Washington State

In 1985, the Governor's Task Force on Child Care recommended the creation of community-based child care resource and referral (CCR&R) services in Washington. The first five programs began in 1986. By 1989 there were nine programs which decided to develop a professional association to coordinate statewide efforts. As a result, the Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network was officially incorporated as a nonprofit agency. The Network now offers statewide coverage through its eighteen locally-based programs. All Network member programs must meet specific programmatic and service criteria outlined in the Network’s Member In Good Standing Policy. The Network has referred over a quarter million children to child care in Washington state between 1998-2002.

The local child care resource & referral (CCR&R) programs serve four fundamental roles:

1. Parent Information & Referral: Trained phone counselors at all local CCR&R's offer parents a variety of services including referrals to licensed child care providers who match with the parent’s or guardian’s basic needs; techniques for choosing quality child care; explanations of subsidies to assist in paying for child care; and linkages with other community services. They serve to link families with the vast array of services they need such as: parenting education; health connections; respite care options and access to subsidies such as homeless child care, migrant child care and respite care.
2. Caregiver Support: Local member agencies deliver ongoing training and technical assistance to child care providers. They offer caregivers invaluable support services specific to the needs in their communities. A sampling of the types of services offered by many CCR&R programs includes: general recruitment; a wide variety of informal and formal classes to improve both the quality of care for children and the ability of providers to maintain a business; assistance with accreditation and other certification; linkages with health; access to comprehensive toy and resource lending libraries; assistance with meeting requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act; support groups of their peers; and newsletters and notices with regular updates on information relevant to their business and the families they serve.
3. Community Building and Education: A community-driven, integrated early childhood/youth care and education system is integral to strong family support. The local CCR&R's are the catalyst for the development of such an integrated system. The CCR&R's raise awareness about the complexities of maintaining a quality child care system through community education programs, media outreach, collection, analysis and dissemination of data, and through their participation on local committees and task forces. They partner with health professionals, educators, social workers, economic development and business leaders to better serve families and the community.
4. Data and Research: The local programs gather daily data on child care supply and demand as well as other pertinent information such as child care provider rates, trainings and other community resources. Once collected, this data is shared monthly with the Network for compilation, analysis and statewide dissemination.