WNY Women's Fund is proud to work with area program service providers who are making a difference every day in the lives of women and girls in our region. The Child Care Resource Network (CCRN) is one of the Women's Fund partners working on the Pathways to Progress initiative area of affordable, accessible, quality child care.

CCRN is a not-for-profit child care resource and referral agency committed to the development of affordable quality early care and education for children in Erie County. Their services include: education, technical assistance, and resources for existing professionals and those interested in becoming early care and education professionals. In addition, CCRN provides:

• Family support, including parent education, needs assessment, and pertinent referrals to families seeking assistance in locating child care services;
• Enrollment and safety inspections of legally exempt providers;
• Administration of federal food program reimbursement for family based providers;
• Work with governments to increase and improve child care services; collaboration with Early Childhood Educators and Child Care Associations in WNY;
• Assistance to business and community planners in identifying ways to meet the needs of the work force on child/family issues. 

What is QUALITYstarsNY?

 

Their vision is quality early care and education for all children. As such, the CCRN and Women's Fund have teamed up to support the expansion of  QUALITYstarsNY, a Qualtiy Rating and Improvement System in the eight initial childcare providers who participated in the area pilot program as well as to expand the program to eight new centers. CCRN will serve as the lead agency for the Field Test for QUALITYstarsNY.

 

According to Susan Block, Executive Director for CCRN, "In half of our nation, quality rating and improvement systems ensure that our youngest citizens participate in early childhood programs that are constantly striving to improve the way they care and educate.  These systems provide parents with assistance in choosing child care and ensure that the public and private investments in early education are well spent.  New York state programs are currently subject to regulations for child care, public schools, and Head Start.  Aligning these regulations into standards that ensure high-quality programs is desirable and worthwhile to pursue as part of public policy. QUALITYstarsNYis the quality rating and improvement system under development here in New York." 

 

To learn more about QUALITYstarsNY, click here.