Coordination Child Care Resource and Referral Systems
States may allocate CCDF funds, including quality funds, to child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agencies, networks, and systems. CCR&R agencies have supported states in many ways. The following are examples of how CCR&R agencies may provide important connections to local communities:
- Engaging families with consumer education and information about child care financial assistance (subsidy)
- Engaging child care providers in order to disseminate information about the availability of child care, including information about the quality of care (where that information is available)
- Providing training and technical assistance for child care providers
- Promoting quality and helping child care providers meet higher quality levels
In addition, in some states, CCR&R agencies also administer CCDF child care financial assistance or other services (such as child care provider training, communicating with providers following disaster, or administering quality improvement grants).
The CCDBG Act and CCDF final rule allow states to use CCDF funds to establish or support a system of local or regional CCR&R agencies that is coordinated, to the extent determined appropriate by the state, by a lead CCR&R organization. The lead organization may be a statewide public or private nonprofit, or a community-based or regional organization. If a state uses funds for a system of local or regional CCR&R agencies, these agencies must, at the direction of the Lead Agency, do the following:
✔️ Provide parents with consumer education about the full range of child care options, analyzed by provider, including child care provided during non-traditional hours and through emergency child care centers
✔️ Work directly with families that receive CCDF assistance to help and support them as they decide on a child care provider to ensure that the families are enrolling their children in the most appropriate child care setting that suits their needs and one that is of high quality, to the extent practicable
✔️ Collect data and provide information on the coordination of services and supports, including services under section 619 (Preschool Grants) and Part C (Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
✔️ Collect data and provide information on the supply and demand for child care and submit this information to the state
✔️ Establish partnerships to increase the supply and quality of child care in the state
✔️ Coordinate activities with the state Lead Agency and local agencies that administer funds, as appropriate [1]
[1] CCDBG Act of 2014 658E(c)(2)(E); Child Care and Development Fund, 45 C.F.R. § 98.52 (2016).