What's been tried before? What worked? What didn't?
What do people impacted by the issue say that we should consider and do?
Do they have a team member that would like to join our group?
What do people impacted by your work say about finding child care?
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The process of finding child care can be very complicated and disappointing. There are limited options for quality child care and several areas that present a 'child care desert' as well as an inconsistent definition of quality. We are working primarily with the families who are struggling to find child care on their own. As the child care navigator, the largest complaint I hear is that the child care providers they have contacted that are the most convenient either do not accept CCAP or they do not have space available. The ones that are able to work with a navigator and find child care are very grateful for the help.
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Do you find that people consider quality or understand what it means to be a quality site when looking for child care in your county?
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For the families who have been educated on Colorado Shines, they are learning to use that resource to find 'quality'. Past that, each family views quality differently and through their own lens of values. Some families view very clean environments as quality even if they are not offering academics or parent engagement opportunities. Conversely, there are centers that are not necessarily the 'cleanest' but are ensuring children are prepared for Kindergarten and beyond and parents find that to be higher quality than schools that just want to look good. In my experience, there are generally 4 categories of quality that families are looking for when they are shopping for child care based on their own personal preferences and values -- Education/Academics; Health and Safety; Community/Parent Engagement; Location/Convenience. Sorry for the long answer but it is not as simple as yes, families understand and consider quality. The definition isn't the same for everyone.
Do you find that the one on one assistance with a Child Care Navigator is beneficial and does ACECC have programs that help the provider (like EQ) to become informed on quality, early learning, etc.?
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I find that the one on one support I offer to families does increase the success rate of accessing and maintaining benefits. ACECC has quality improvement programs and trainings for providers and also offers family support so families can access quality as well. Our suite of supports has always been very helpful for families.
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If so, do you find these programs to be beneficial?
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Absolutely. While we cannot save everyone, we can make an impact on our little corner of the world. Providers and families are always grateful for the support and programs we provide.
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Also, what do the providers and families say about what their needs are linked to and how can we improve?
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I think everything eventually gets linked to money. We could do so much more if we had the money. Families would not find themselves in crisis if they had enough money. If we had free money to give away like coupons... 😊 How can we improve? I know I have heard that offering things in multiple languages (Arabic, for example) would be very beneficial. As with any organization or movement, communication can always be improved.