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The Child Care Partnership Project Child Care 2000 Campaign |
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Description Knowledge is power. The purpose of the Child Care 2000 campaign in Washington State is to use knowledge to empower consumers and policymakers to recognize and demand quality child care. Public- and private-sector partners are joining forces not only to heighten consumer awareness about appropriate child care, but also to change the perception of child care providers from that of babysitters to "parenting partners." Businesses give their financial support, media outlets donate advertising space, and the public and private child care community guides the direction of the campaign. Partners Nineteen community partners support the Child Care 2000 Campaign. Foundations and private and non-profit organizations also support the campaign with financial and in-kind contributions. The Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network, a private, non-profit association of community-based child care resource and referral agencies, coordinates the campaign with help from:
History and Development In 1995, the Child Care 2000 Campaign was launched as a public-private partnership to improve the quality of care available to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age youth by informing parents of their child care options. It seeks to teach consumers and policymakers to discriminate between high-quality and inadequate care, with the goal of increasing the demand for and supply of high-quality care. The campaign is divided into four phases. Phase 1 activities, which began in 1996, included extensive outreach to policymakers during the 1996 legislative session. Phases 2 through 4 target parents, businesses, and child care providers, phasing in messages addressed to each audience. Outreach efforts targeted at child care providers began in 1998. Current Activities Consumer education is the primary activity of the Child Care 2000 Campaign. It targets four audiences—policymakers, parents and the general public, businesses, and child care providers—and teaches then what good child care looks like, in order to transform public opinion about the role of child care. The majority of resources and energy have been dedicated to Phase 2, which targets parents and the general public. The extensive media campaign distinguishes between the needs of infants and school-age children with the following two slogans:
The media campaign includes billboards, bus advertising, public service announcements on television and radio, print media advertisements and articles, worksite employee outreach, direct mail, posters, brochures, and educational packets. Outreach to businesses began with the distribution of information to more than 500 human resources personnel. The initial mailing included information on the campaign and an invitation to call a toll-free number to receive free promotional materials to distribute to employees. Resources Since 1995, the campaign has received over $100,000 in free advertising from local television, radio, billboard, and marketing organizations. In addition, the campaign has received funds from public and private partners, including:
The Child Care and Development Fund is the only ongoing, annual support, and the Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network administers all campaign funds. Results In a relatively short time, the Child Care 2000 campaign has had an impact on policymakers, the media, and employers. For example, in 1997, Governor Gary Locke and a bipartisan group of lawmakers passed a bill requiring that all licensed child care providers receive a basic level of education, and then allocated additional resources to meet this new requirement. Media coverage of child care issues also has improved. Reporters regularly call campaign organizers for information on child care, and there is better news coverage about the importance of quality child care and how to recognize it. In the first year of outreach to businesses, more than 4,000 packets of information on quality child care have been requested by businesses to distribute to their employees. Sustaining and Replicating The leadership and stability of the Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network and the strong and diverse base of support for the Child Care 2000 Campaign will help to sustain the effort. Future plans for the Child Care 2000 Campaign include launching Phase 4, outreach to child care providers, while maintaining the momentum of the first three phases. Lessons Learned Plan ahead and raise the money first. The campaign grew as it gained momentum and financial support. Leaders report, however, that the campaign might have had an even bigger impact if full financial support were available from the beginning, and if all four phases had been launched simultaneously. This requires taking more time to plan, developing detailed budgets for each of the four components, and working more on fundraising. The larger impact has to be weighed against the delay in starting. Sometimes you need help from the outside. Building partnerships takes time and patience. The Child Care 2000 Campaign hired an outside public relations consultant who could help craft the campaign message, mediate the discussion, and facilitate decision-making as a neutral party. This helped to build a broad base of support. Let partners react. In order to include all partners in decision-making, meeting facilitators learned that it was more efficient to give partners something to react to rather than to pose questions without any guidance. Present the idea or plan as an option, with a clear understanding that it is a place to start the discussion, not to end it. Choose your battles. Consensus among the partners is hard to achieve all the time. It is critical to prioritize what is important and to concentrate efforts on developing common ground around those issues. Contact Information Elizabeth Bonbright Thompson Larry Macmillan |
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