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Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) provides a range of comprehensive services to recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce. Our team of knowledgeable Child Care Consultants are dedicated to cultivating supportive relationships with providers to help them achieve their program goals and meet their unique individualized needs, ultimately enriching the success, growth and quality of their programs.
At CCR&R, we strive to provide services in the primary language of the provider being served. We achieve this through the use of translation services during visits, training sessions, and through printed materials. When providing on-site consultations at child care programs, we utilize translation services or work with family members to ensure the provider's comfort level and needs are being met. Furthermore, we assist programs in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment reflective of the languages and cultures of the providers and families for whom care is being served. We offer a wide range of printed materials in various languages to support our diverse community:
CCR&R recognizes the need for staff to be educated and trained on culturally diverse practices and procedures, along with partnering with communities to design and implement our services to ensure we meet the diverse cultural and linguistic needs of child care programs in Iowa.
Although every program and region may have distinct strengths, we take pride in highlighting the progress of a partnership in Southeast Iowa:
Child Care Resource and Referral of Southeast Iowa has formed an alliance with the Catherine McAuley Center (CMC) in Cedar Rapids to help over thirty refugees establish their businesses as registered Child Development Homes. Success has been achieved through consistent collaboration with the center's staff and providers, ensuring the accurate exchange of information, documents, and requirements. The Catherine McAuley Center has played an integral role in supporting potential providers through translated services, training and ensuring the necessary materials are available to start, as well as offering opportunities to meet with child care consultants. Additionally, the center provides meeting spaces for CCR&R child care consultants to connect with providers, assist with applications, fingerprints, policy requirements and provide translation services during home visits.
As part of our partnership with the Catherine McAuley Center, two CCR&R child care consultants facilitated the ChildNet 3.0 training and certification series. This training series was provided to approximately 15 Child Development Home providers in the Cedar Rapids Area whose primary language is Swahili. To ensure the needs of all child care providers were met, translation services and translated materials in Swahili were provided. During the training series, discussions included the influence of culture and its crucial role in child care practices. Offering training and materials in a provider's primary language is essential. It helps ensure that they have a proper understanding of the information provided and demonstrates our commitment to inclusivity for the child care workforce.
“CCR&R of Southeast Iowa is a very vital partnership and pivotal in the collaboration efforts in Catherine McAuley Center’s service delivery to our clients. CMC trains and assists Refugees to become licensed child care businesses to promote culturally and linguistically appropriate child care.” – CMC Refugee Child Care Program Team
Given the success of the ChildNet 3.0 training series, there is a desire to pursue professional development opportunities and collaborate with the Catherine McAuley Center to expand our services and offerings. We look forward to continuing our partnership by offering ChildNet 3.0 and additional training such as Safe Sleep and PALS.
“The Catherine McAuley Center could not do what we do without the partnership we have with CCR&R of Southeast Iowa. We are extremely delighted to work with CCR&R and look forward to continuing our partnership into the future.” – CMC Refugee Child Care Program Team.
If your child care program is looking for assistance with professional development planning, action plans, goal setting, continuous quality improvement, environment observations, room arrangement, behavior concerns, creating policies, or any number of other free services offered by CCR&R, be sure to visit with your CCR&R Child Care Consultant! Our mission is to support quality child care to ensure Iowa’s vision is met - Every child, beginning at birth, will be healthy and successful.
CCR&R is excited to launch access to real-time data for Iowa!
We collect information on early childhood for programs, community members and more! Using this information can help policymakers make informed decisions regarding child care.
We are excited to share that we have added the option for instant access to real-time data on our Data webpage.
Use the feature to gather the latest data regarding specific child care services per county. Including:
CCR&R is always striving to meet our mission: Provide resources, education and advocacy to support quality child care. CCR&R is committed to ensure that Iowa's vision is met. Every child, beginning at birth, will be healthy and successful.
Exciting News! New Training Options Available on CCR&R's Online Training Page: We're thrilled to announce that CCR&R now offers a range of no-cost, interactive webinars designed specifically for early childhood professionals like you. These webinars provide an excellent opportunity to enhance your skills, improve your business, and elevate the quality of services you provide to children.
What's New? Our online training page is now updated with a fresh array of training sessions covering a variety of topics relevant to early childhood education. From understanding child behavior to fostering respectful interactions, promoting physical fitness, and accommodating children with disabilities, there's something for everyone.
Training Schedule Highlights: Check out some of the upcoming webinars scheduled from April and May.
How to Register: Registering for our training sessions is simple. Just head over to the i-PoWeR Professional Workforce Registry and search for the training title to secure your spot.
Connect with Us: Do you need assistance planning your training for the year? Reach out to your Child Care Consultant today and create your Professional Development Plan (also available in Spanish) to chart your growth journey.
We're committed to supporting your professional development every step of the way. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to expand your knowledge and skills. Visit our online training page now and take your child care practice to new heights!
In January 2024, Jon Ann Beede and Brandi Snyder of Tinker Tots achieved their Iowa Quality for Kids (IQ4K®) rating of level 5, which is the highest rating on the IQ4K scale. Jon and Brandi are the first Child Development Home in Union County to reach this rating.
Tinker Tots have been improving their quality while progressing through the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process for IQ4K®. By participating in IQ4K®, programs can assess their current programming across all areas and devise a structured plan to increase the overall level of program quality. Programs make improvements in the following areas: health & safety, environment, professional development, family & community partnerships, and leadership & administration. When a rating is achieved, they are showing how dedicated they are to providing and improving quality child care in their program and community.
IQ4K® is a voluntary program that is available to child care programs that are registered or licensed with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A monetary bonus is given to child care programs that achieve IQ4K® levels. Child Care Centers and Preschools, Child Development Homes and School-Age Programs are encouraged to apply. CCR&R can assist those interested. Child Care Consultants will be available to answer questions and assist programs in the application process; for a list of participating programs, visit the HHS website.
Request and reorder resource materials directly from the CCR&R website! This user-friendly option has been designed with your needs in mind, ensuring swift access to some of our most utilized resources.
Our goal is to make it easier for community members to share information about our valuable services. We invite all our partners, child care providers and community members to explore this new resource page and its streamlined approach to requesting and reordering materials.
Work continues in building Child Care Connect (C3), Iowa’s operational data store. Iowa State University will maintain C3.
How will C3 support your child care program??? The monthly Data Collection Form you complete and submit to report your program’s desired capacity and vacancies goes into C3. The data will connect:
Watch your email inbox on the first Monday of each month, around 9:00 a.m., for an email from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The email has a link to the monthly Data Collection Form. (Note: If the first Monday of the month is a holiday, the email will arrive in your inbox on Tuesday.) It will take you less than 5 minutes to complete the monthly form. Screenshots of the monthly Data Collection Form are available here and the Frequently Asked Questions document is available here.
HHS anticipates launching C3 in June. Watch for an email in your inbox in June for more information.
Are staff recruitment and retention keeping you up at night? The team at Child Care Collaborative of Iowa (CCCI) understands how stressful this can be and has compiled effective talent strategies to help.
Resources for Attracting and Retaining Top Talent
The Child Care Collaborative of Iowa’s Business Library features a variety of staffing-related topics. From crafting compelling job listings to conducting successful interviews, these resources will guide you in attracting qualified and passionate individuals to join your team.
Learn more about:
To access these resources plus explore additional content, simply visit the CCCI Business Library.
CCCI is committed to helping you:
Please contact CCCI directly if you’d like to learn more about financial management consulting and other opportunities at 844-786-1016 or FMC@midsioux.org.
April is a special month dedicated to raising awareness about child abuse. It's a time when communities unite to learn how to keep kids safe and support those who have been hurt. By talking about the significance of kindness, respect, and speaking up when something isn't right, we can all help create a world where every child is cherished and protected. Learn more at preventchildabuse.org.
CCR&R is committed to helping child care programs reach new heights. While May 10 is celebrated as Provider Appreciation Day®, be sure to follow CCR&R on Facebook May 6-10 for a week-long celebration of Iowa's early childhood educators!
Tags: newsletter , ccr&r news , community partnerships , parent referrals , cost of child care , recruitment , resources
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