NACCRRA
The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
About Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies State and local Child Care Resource & Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) work with all who have an interest in or responsibility for child care—families, child care providers, educators, businesses, and policymakers.
CCR&Rs: u H elp families find and pay for child care by providing more than 5 million consultations each year;
For more information and to find out how you can help improve our nation’s child care, visit www.naccrra.org
u L everage funds to increase the quality and affordability of child care by raising $3.18 in public and private support for every $1 of federal funding received.
NACCRRA 3101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 350 • Arlington, VA 22201 Phone (703) 341-4100 • Fax (703) 341-4101 info@naccrra.org • www.naccrra.org
© NACCRRA 2006
u D ocument local child care trends—including cost, supply, and demand—and develop innovative ways to meet the changing needs of families; and
174-0920
u I ncrease the supply of high-quality care by training more than 500,000 child care providers and helping to develop 450,000 new child care spaces annually;
age 3, and 90 percent by age 5. Research has also shown that high-quality child care — care that supports children’s social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development — maximizes children’s overall growth and prepares them to succeed in school and life.
What We Do
Who We Are
NACCRRA leads projects that increase the quality, affordability, accessibility, and availability of child care, offers comprehensive training to child care professionals, conducts research, and advocates child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families.
Founded in 1987, NACCRRA is a national nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization. NACCRRA works with more than 800 state and local Child Care Resource & Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) to ensure that families have access to high-quality, affordable child care.
NACCRRA provides support to local and state level CCR&Rs across the nation. Each year, CCR&Rs help millions of parents find high-quality child care, train 500,000 child care providers, create 450,000 new child care spaces, and influence local and state policy issues related to child care.
Why Our Work is Important
Our Accomplishments
Child care is a fact of life for nearly 12 million children under age 5 in child care every week. Yet too many parents do not have access to high-quality child care that they can afford. Research has shown that the early years, from birth through age 5, are the most critical for brain development and learning. 80 percent of a child’s brain develops by
NACCRRA supports high-quality, affordable child care services for all young children. NACCRRA: u H elps more than 750,000 families find child care each year through our Child Care Aware™ program; u P roduces valuable resources to inform and engage parents, including the Daily Parent newsletter, and our Parent Central website;
u D evelops research on national demographic, social, and political trends in child care, that allows us to identify and disseminate best practices; u M onitors and advocates national child care policies that help families and children; u B uilds partnerships to advance national child care policies, funding and practices; u P rovides direct financial support to thousands of parents through our military and AmeriCorps/VISTA subsidy programs; u A dministers NACCRRAware, a referral software program that assists 30,000 families each month in locating child care; u P rovides technical assistance and training to thousands of CCR&R professionals across the country; and u B rings together the nation’s leading child care experts to share research and promising practices at the annual Policy Symposium, Professional Development and Leadership Institutes, and State Network Leadership Institutes.