CCTAN - The Child Care Technical Assistance Network, a service of the Office of Child Care

Program start-up begins with planning and design to ensure that the program launches and operates successfully. These resources provide information about community assessment and collaboration, program self-assessment, workforce development, and cultural and linguistic responsiveness.

Equal access to child care entails identifying, evaluating, and promoting policies that support accessible, high-quality care for all populations. Such policies can include those that address assessing market rates and child care costs, strategies for building supply, setting payment rates, establishing payment practices, and ensuring parental choice. The following resources provide further information about these topics as they relate to equal access to care.

Parents are their children’s most important teachers and advocates. Child care programs can serve as trusted sources of information for parents on child development and community supports and services. The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 stipulates that States should be encouraged to provide consumer information to “promote involvement by parents and family members in the development of their children in child care settings.” The following resources provide information about the requirements of the new law and strategies for effectively informing and involving child care consumers.

Leadership and coordination are essential to supporting and encouraging collaboration among the state and federal public agencies that provide early and school-age care and education. The following resources provide information about program governance, building partnerships, and engaging stakeholders.

Under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, States and Territories are required to establish training and professional development requirements designed to enable child care providers to promote the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of children and to improve the knowledge and skills of the child care workforce. The following resources provide information on professional development systems, career pathways, practice-based coaching, and more.

Program integrity and accountability activities are grounded in state and territory policies focused on administration of the Child Care and Development Fund. They cover the expenditure of funds; monitoring programs and services to ensure compliance; and prevention and detection of fraud, waste, and abuse. The following resources provide further information about these requirements and activities.

As they grow, children experience marked stages of development. The following resources provide more information about the development of infants and toddlers, preschool-age children, and school-age children. They also address the importance of early learning guidelines, developmental screening and assessment, language development, and supporting children with disabilities in early care and education programs.

Licensing and other regulatory systems establish health and safety standards to ensure the well-being of children in all early care and education settings. Monitoring and enforcement of standards, emergency preparedness procedures, and services that support children’s health and wellness can protect children from injury and illness. The following resources provide additional information about protecting children’s health and safety.

Quality improvement systems focus on improving the quality of child care in all settings through quality rating and improvement systems and other quality improvement initiatives. The following resources provide information on common elements of quality improvement systems, including system planning and implementation; outreach, consumer education, and consumer engagement; provider supports and financial incentives; quality assurance and monitoring; and evaluation.

Stable financial assistance necessitates assistance policies that are child focused, family friendly, and fair to providers. Eligibility policies, protection for working parents, and the prioritization of vulnerable children and families promote stable and uninterrupted care for children and families. The following resources provide information about child care supports that promote continuity of care and lasting economic stability for families.