Personal tools

Family Resources

All parents have questions about their children’s behavior, growth, and development. The challenges of parenting seem never-ending and constantly evolving. On this page we  provide resources for parents that answer many of the questions that will inevitably arise when raising children.

The following brochures "Licensed Child Care in Washington State" (English)  and "Programa con licencia para el cuidado del niño en el Estado de Washington" (Spanish) answer frequently asked questions about child care. Visit the DEL web site for more answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

Publications

To help you better judge quality when you’re considering which child care program is right for your child, NACCRRA has created an easy-to-use booklet, Is This the Right Place for My Child?: 38 Research-Based Indicators of High-Quality Child Care.

The Foundations of Lifelong Health are Built in Early Childhood, Harvard University

Articles for Working Parents

Internet links

  • Access Washington Resource Directory -  Access Washington is the virtual business center for interactive government services. Designed as a World Wide Web portal to Washington State, Access Washington provides a coordinated view of government information and services.

  • Baby Sign Language: This site is a collection of free resources created to teach baby sign language through:

      • Tutorials
      • Video dictionary
      • Flash cards that parents can print out at home
      • Wall chart
  • Born Learning: Everyday life is a learning experience for children. Born Learning is a public engagement campaign that helps parents, grandparents and caregivers explore ways to turn everyday moments into fun learning opportunities. Visit their web site to find out how children learn, get tips on creating opportunities for learning and learning on the go.

  • BraveKids.org is a website that links families of special-needs children with the community resources that can help them. Our extensive online resource directory contains over 11,000 resources for children with special needs. You are one of those resources!

  • Child Care Aware: Find and learn about high quality child care, network with other parents, watch videos about high-quality child care, and print out our child care glossary.

  • Children's Home Society Through adoption support services, family support and parent education, early childhood development, school-based services, advocacy, counseling and out-of-home care, Children's Home Society of Washington has served Washington state's children and families for more than 100 years.

  • Council for Children and Families Prevention of abuse and neglect.

  • Earned Income Tax Credit The earned income credit (EITC) is a tax credit for certain people who work and have earned income in tax year 2005 under $37,263. A tax credit usually means more money in your pocket. It reduces the amount of tax you owe. The EITC may also give you a refund.
  • Families and Work Institute - a non-profit organization that addresses the changing nature of work and family life. We are committed to finding research-based strategies that foster mutually supportive connections among workplaces, families, and communities.
  • Family Communications - We are the producers of Mister Roger's Neighborhood and other materials for young children, their families, and those who support them.
  • Kinship Care in Washington State - Are you a grandparent or other family member raising a relative’s child? You are not alone. Over 35,000 people in Washington State are caring for a relative’s child. Visit this web page for information and answers to questions.
  • Magellan Health Care -  This web site lists valuable health and wellness information, tools, tips for strengthening family life and resources to help with life's challenges as well as opportunities.
  • The March of Dimes has launched a new web-based, interactive educational tool for parents, "Understanding your Newborn." This online resource provides information about how newborns signal their parents about their feelings and needs. Topics are covered in six different modules: States of Awareness, Infant Sleep, Senses, Reflexes and Movements, Crying and Playing/Break Time.
  • NACCRRA's Disaster Preparedness and planning resources are important for all families and child care providers to ensure that child care setting are sufficiently prepared in the event of a disaster.
  • National Association for the Education of Young Children - (NAEYC) Choosing a quality preschool for your child.
  • National Network for Child Care (NNCC) - Our mission is to increase and strengthen the quality of non-parental care environments using the expertise of Cooperative Extension's nationwide dissemination system; make quality research, resources and best practices available nationally for direct local access and provide leadership to the nation's Cooperative Extension System in partnership with other organizations on child care issues.
  • Parent Trust for Washington Children - creates lasting change and hope for the future by promoting safe, self sufficient, healthy families and communities.
  • Parent Soup
  • Safe Kids -check for children's product recalls.
  • Social Security Resource Center - Many individuals will have the need to file for Social Security Disability benefits. The Social Security and Disability Resource Center website provides information on the federal government's two disability benefit programs, title II social security disability benefits and title 16 SSI disability benefits.

Covered topics include disability applications, denials on claims, the filing of appeals, and how the disability claim evaluation process works.