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#12 Title:
Child Care You Can Count On! Part 1
Special Guest: Linda Smith
Executive Director, National Association of Child
Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA)
Description:
Finding good, reliable childcare can feel overwhelming. Listen to various experts in the field as they give advice about what to look for and questions to ask. We’ll talk with a child care provider who offers quality home-based care, a parent who has successfully secured reliable care, and an expert from NACCRRA, our nation’s leading voice for child care.
Listen to Part 2: Family Child Care, Gwen Ridley
Listen to Part 3: A Parent's Perspective with Katie
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Music Spotlight:
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Duration: 29:03 
Index
00:41 Welcome Linda
01:33 What is NACCRRA?
02:36 What is Child Care Aware?
04:12 Child Care Referrals for Parents
06:30 Checklists for Parents
11:57 When Should I Begin My Search?
14:22 Free Publications
16:43 Stay Home or Return to Work?
19:08 Caller: Nicole on Kindergarten
19:39 School-Readiness
25:15 More Resources for Parents
27:49 Closing Comments
Photo: Read, Age 1 |
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About Linda Smith
Ms. Smith is the Executive Director of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) located in Arlington, Virginia.
Ms. Smith is an expert in the field of early care and education systems and program development. During Ms. Smith’s 25 years experience at the Department of Defense, she served as the Director of Family Policy, where she was responsible for policy and oversight of comprehensive family service programs affecting 2.1 million family members of military personnel.
Additionally, as the Director of Child Development Programs for the Secretary of Defense, Ms. Smith lead implementation of the landmark Military Child Care Act of 1989, vastly transforming the program into one singled out by President Clinton and the United States Congress as a "model for the nation."
Click here to learn more about Linda.
About NACCRRA
NACCRRA, the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies, is our nation’s leading voice for child care. We work with more than 800 state and local Child Care Resource & Referral agencies to ensure that families in every local community have access to high-quality, affordable child care.
To achieve our mission, we lead projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, offer comprehensive training to child care professionals, undertake groundbreaking research, and advocate child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families.
Click here to learn more about NACCRRA.
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Resources from NACCRRA
Booklet
Is This the Right Place for My Child? 38 Research-Based Indicators of High-Quality Child Care: The booklet contains a checklist of 38 questions that you can ask to evaluate child care programs. Unlike most guidelines for selecting child care, this booklet explains why each question is important and how it relates to the quality of care. All of the questions are based on research about what is important to your child’s health, safety, and development.
http://www.naccrra.org/parent/qualityindicators (free download) 
Website Resources
Quality Care
Take a look at the many parent-focused programs, initiatives, and resources NACCRRA has available for you.
http://www.naccrra.org/parent/index.php
Quality Child Care: Recognizing and Choosing the Best for Your Children
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/dailyparent/volume.php?id=39
Non-Traditional Care
Selecting a Faith-Based Program
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/areyouaware/articles.php?id=22
Finding Care for Non-Traditional Hours
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/dailyparent/volume.php?id=19
Using a Relative for Care
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/dailyparent/volume.php?id=2
Preschool
10 Signs of a Great Preschool
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/areyouaware/articles.php?id=55
Preschool - Academics or Play?
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/areyouaware/articles.php?id=21
In-Home Care
Agreement to Use with Family Child Care Providers
http://www.childcareaware.org/en/tools/resources/agreementform.pdf
Child Care Aware Can Help!
Child Care Aware, a program of NACCRRA, is a non-profit initiative committed to
helping parents find the best information on locating quality child care and child
care resources in their community. We do this by raising visibility for local child
care resource and referral agencies nationwide, and by connecting parents with the
local agencies best equipped to serve their needs.
Find out the average rates for child care in your area.
Should you return to work or stay at home?
Locate a resource & referral agency in your area.
Have access to many child care resources.
Browse articles about parenting
and MORE! Click Here Now. |
Photo: Jasmine, 1st Day of Preschool
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Did You Know?
Almost 12 million children under age 5 in the
United States—that’s 63 percent of the nation’s
children under 5—are in some type of child care
arrangement every week, And more than 6 mil-
lion of them are in the care of someone other
than a relative.
On average, children under age 5
spend more than 30 hours a week in child care.
Children of working mothers spend almost 40
hours a week in these arrangements.
A family in the United States with
a 4-year-old child encounters average prices
of $3,016 to $9,628 a year in child care fees.
Parents of infants face even higher child care
prices. Average child care fees for one infant
range from $3,803 to $13,480 a year.
Currently, 70.7% of women with
children work.
Sources: www.naccrra.org/docs/policy/FocusGrpReport
www.naccrra.org/policy/docs/BreakingPiggy
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