External Child Care Resources

California-Based Resources

• California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC)
  Dedicated to advancing excellence throughout the early care education profession by providing developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive, high quality, early education for all children through research, education, professional development, and advocacy.
• California Alternative Payment Program Association (CAPPA)
  Advocate for, and facilitates family access to, quality child care, supportive services, and early education and development programs.
• California Budget Project (CBP)
  Engages in independent fiscal and policy analysis and public education with a goal of improving public policies affecting the economic and social well-being of low and middle-income Californians.
• California Child Care Resource & Referral Network
  The California Child Care Resource & Referral Network promotes affordable, accessible quality care through research, education, policy, and advocacy.
• California Child Development Administrators Association (CCDAA)
  Promotes quality early childhood programs in California through the provision of education, technical assistance, and networking of administrators of publicly funded child development/early learning programs.
• California Emergency Medical Services
  The mission of the California Emergency Medical Services Authority is to ensure quality patient care by administering an effective, statewide system of coordinated emergency medical care, injury prevention, and disaster medical response.
• California Head Start Association (CHSA)
  Offers leadership and advocacy for the Head Start community, as well as, updates to the early care and education community about local and national legislation.
• California Preschool Energy Efficiency Program (CPEEP)
  Helps center-based child care and preschool facilities in replacing older, energy-intensive equipment with energy-efficient upgrades that help reduce operating costs.
• California Statewide Screening Collaborative (CSSC)
  The CSSC brings together state agencies, organizations, and special initiatives that focus on California's capacity to promote and deliver effective and well-coordinated health, developmental, and early mental health screenings for young children, birth to age 5.
• California Tribal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Program
  Provides assistance for the Indian Tribes of California including funds, tools, and resources necessary for each Tribe or Consortium to administer its own Tribal TANF program.
• Center for Prevention and Early Intervention (CPEI)
  Provides training, technical assistance, and resource development for young children with disabilities and other special needs and their families
• Child Care Law Center (CCLC)
  Uses legal tools toward making high quality, affordable child care available to every child, family and community, while focusing particular attention to low-income families, families and children with disabilities and other special needs, and other families who face barriers in securing and maintaining quality care.
• Child Development Policy Institute (CDPI)
  Help establish sound public policy focused on what is best for the children of California.
• Children Now
  A national organization for people who care about children and want to ensure that they are the top public policy priority.
• Community Care Licensing (CCL)
  Provides comprehensive information regarding licensing for child development centers and family child care homes.
• Family Partnership Initiative (FPI) Training-of-Trainers Institute
  Provides training for child development trainers to enhance partnerships between families and staff of child care programs.
• Fight Crime: Invest in Kids-California
  Offers crime prevention strategies, after-school programs for children and teens, mental health services for youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, and interventions to get troubled kids back on track.
• On the Capitol Doorstep (OTCD)
  A periodical that tracks current State and federal legislation affecting young children.
• Preschool California
  Strives to increase access to high-quality preschool for all of California’s children, starting with those who need it most. This goal is met by bringing together K-12 educators, business leaders, parents, labor, law enforcement, early care and education providers, faith-based institutions, community leaders, and others.
• Tribal Child Care Association of California
  The Tribal Child Care Association of California is an association of child care professionals specializing in working with Native American families, children and communities. The association focuses on the needs of tribally regulated child care and education settings on tribal lands, along with private child care programs off tribal lands to further the child care and educational needs of tribal families.
• TrustLine Registry (PDF)
  Helps ensure the safety of California’s children. License-exempt child care providers, including nannies and babysitters, who have passed a background screening will be entered into the Registry.

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Nationwide Resources

• Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services (ACF)
  Responsible for federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities.
• Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL)
  Materials that provide parents and teachers with simple ways to enhance daily activities and routines with literacy specific opportunities.
• Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center
  Provides early learning programs with resources intended to assist them help young children develop the skills and knowledge they need to enter school ready to succeed.
• Express Lane Eligibility (ELE)
  A way to expedite enrollment into health insurance programs for large numbers of uninsured children, specifically those enrolled in other public programs.
• Healthy Child Care America
  The Healthy Child Care America program is a collaborative effort of health professionals and child care providers working to improve the early education and health and safety of children in out-of-home child care.
• Healthy Futures: Improving Health Outcomes for Young Children
  Through the Healthy Child Care America program, the American Academy of Pediatrics has developed a curriculum designed for early education and child care professionals to manage infectious diseases. “PediaLink” online learning modules allow participants to learn independently in a web-based format. A new online course entitled “Preventing and Managing Infectious Diseases in Early Education and Child Care” (PDF) provides reliable national resources for guidance on preventing and managing infectious diseases, and is designed for everyone who cares for children, including health care professionals and child care providers.
• Local Family Child Care Associations
  A nationwide directory of family child care associations.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
  Dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age 8.
• National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA)
  The mission of the National Indian Child Care Association is to unify tribes and tribal organizations to promote high quality culturally relevant child care and development.
• National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education
  The National Resource Center's primary mission is to promote health and safety in out-of-home child care settings throughout the nation. The organization's resources include Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Early Care and Education Settings and the recently-released Preventing Child Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs (PDF), a new set of national standards describing evidence-based best practices in nutrition, physical activity, and screen time for all types of early care and education settings.
• Reading Rockets
  Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project that offers research-based and best-practice information on teaching kids to read.
• Text4Baby
  The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) has launched Text4Baby, a free mobile information service that provides pregnant women and new mothers with information to help them care for their health and give their babies the best possible start in life.
• Zero to Three
  Supports the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers, and their families.

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Related Content

• Resources for Parents and Families - Information for parents and family members about early childhood education.