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The Child Care Partnership Project Maryland Child Care Resource Network |
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Description Are you a parent looking for child care? An employer trying to attract employees? A child advocate or child care provider working to improve the quality of early care and education? The Maryland Child Care Resource Network (MCCRN) was created in response to these concerns, and now operates statewide through 13 regional resource and referral agencies, one in each of Maryland’s child care licensing regions. Each regional resource center acts as a central coordinator and focal point for child care activity, and services are available to all parents, regardless of their household income. In eight years of operation, the Network has helped 165,911 families locate child care, and increased the supply of child care in Maryland by 31,634 spaces. Partners Primary partners in the Maryland Child Care Resource Network include:
In addition to these partners, the Network contracts with a variety of public and private entities to administer Regional Resource and Referral Centers. These regional administrators include county governments, community colleges, private non-profit agencies, and private associations. An advisory board of child care providers, social service agency personnel, state employees, employers, and parents governs each regional entity. History and Development In the late 1980s, the Maryland Committee for Children, Inc., (MCC) explored issues affecting working families with grants from the Goldseker and Straus Foundations. Recognizing that lack of appropriate child care was a concern for employers as well as parents, MCC initiated the Employers’ Advisory Council on Child Care in 1988. Chaired by Sanford Weill (Co-Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup), the Council’s purpose was to enlist the expertise of business, union, and government leaders to develop an effective business plan for improved child care delivery in Maryland. Mr. Weill and then Governor William Donald Schaefer successfully recruited high-profile leaders from corporations and organizations such as Baltimore Gas & Electric Company, The Baltimore Sun, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland, and Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO Unions to the Council. Over the course of a year, the Council completed an assessment of Maryland’s child care delivery system; compared it to national models; and proposed a public-private partnership to create a child care resource and referral network across Maryland. The network would work to improve child care resources by connecting existing resource and referral entities, and creating new resources where necessary. Emphasis was placed on the active involvement of stakeholders—such as parents, providers, and employers—in the development of these resources. The proposal called for an initial three-year demonstration phase to establish a Statewide Child Care Resource Center and three Regional Child Care Resource Centers, one each in an urban, rural, and suburban region of the state. The council offered to raise one-third of the funding needed for the project from the private sector if the state would commit to funding the balance. The Maryland General Assembly approved the demonstration project, and the Maryland Department of Human Resources awarded a contract to the Maryland Committee for Children to operate the statewide network, develop the urban resource and referral center, and contract with local entities to operate the rural and suburban resource centers. Due to the success of the project, the General Assembly approved funding for the continuation of the project beyond the demonstration phase. In 1997, the governor allocated funding to add 10 new Regional Resource and Referral Centers to create a statewide network of 13 centers. Current Activities In 1999, MCC contracted with local entities to operate 13 Regional Resource and Referral Centers. The Regional Centers provide parents in their geographical area with information such as their range of child care options, child care costs, and where current openings exist. Up-to-date information on child care services and availability is maintained through LOCATE, a statewide computerized database of child care resources developed by MCC. LOCATE contains information on all licensed center-based child care facilities, family child care programs, nursery schools, child development centers, and Head Start programs available in the state of Maryland. LOCATE provides a centralized source of supply and demand data, an invaluable tool for policy development and child care advocacy. LOCATE also provides contractual services to the corporate community on an annual subscription basis. Employers subscribe to LOCATE to assist their employees in finding child care and to educate employers and employees about child care issues, such as child care tax benefits. In addition to providing child care referrals to parents, each Regional Resource Center offers TECHNIC, an array of services for child care professionals. TECHNIC services include a toll-free information line for child care professionals; help for potential child care providers to set-up and become licensed; ongoing professional development training for existing providers; and professional networking opportunities through coordination with organizations such as the Maryland Family Child Care Association. Training services include: assessment of training needs of providers, potential providers, parents, and the larger community; development of a comprehensive training plan; ongoing professional development training for child care providers to meet licensing requirements; and specialized professional development training to help child care providers achieve greater levels of quality. Resources The Maryland Child Care Resource Network is supported by a combination of public and private funds. In their initial proposal for the Network, the Employers’ Advisory Council agreed to raise approximately one-third of the $7,000,000 necessary for the demonstration phase from the private sector, provided that the state committed to funding the balance of the project’s cost. The state agreed to the proposal and the Advisory Council raised private funds for the demonstration project through their own companies, other employers, local, state, and national philanthropies, and United Way Campaigns. Following the demonstration phase, the state has taken on an increasing proportion of responsibility for funding the project. There is a requirement, however, that each Regional Referral Center obtain at least a 10% local match. Regional centers obtain this match through different sources, including foundations, businesses, and private donors. In 1999, total funding for the project was $3,792,700 in federal Child Care and Development Funds, $669,300 in state funds, and $153,650 in matching funds from the Network. The state and federal funds flow from the Maryland Department of Human Resources to MCC, which administers the grants to the regional entities. The Network’s matching funds are administered locally by the regional entities that raise them. Results The LOCATE and TECHNIC tracking systems have allowed the Network to carefully document their results. Between September 1990 (when the Network’s three regional child care resource centers joined MCC in providing services) and June 1998, the Network has:
Sustaining and Replicating The recent expansion and commitment of additional dollars to the Network by the State of Maryland indicates strong public support. This is likely due, in part, to the universal nature of the referral services offered by the Network. All working parents in all socioeconomic levels and geographic areas in the state can benefit from this initiative. In addition, the impressive demand that the Network has generated increases the sustainability of the project. Recently, there has been significant national interest in the project as a model for creation of an effective child care service delivery infrastructure through public-private partnership. Lessons Learned Find a champion. The commitment of Sanford Weill, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Citigroup, and the original chair of the Employers’ Advisory Committee, was instrumental to the Network’s initial development and implementation. He successfully recruited other business leaders to invest time and resources in the project. Business involvement was important to building political support and accessing state funds. Be patient. Working in collaboration to develop and implement new programs always takes longer than expected. In the case of the Network, MCC had to assist some regional entities to build capacity before they were able to contract with them to operate regional resource and referral centers. Document your results. The Network has carefully collected data on the supply of child care, the demand for care, the number of families served, and the number of providers trained, and has done analysis of future childcare trends in Maryland. The effective collection and communication of this data to policymakers and the general public is one reason why the Network has successfully generated the broad public support necessary for statewide expansion. Contact Information Frank Blanton |
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