The Child Care Bureau (CCB) is dedicated to enhancing the quality, affordability, and availability of child care for all families. CCB administers Federal funds to States, Territories, and Tribes to assist low-income families in accessing quality child care for children when the parents work or participate in education or training. CCB has contracted with the following partners to promote their mission.

Afterschool Investments Project

Telephone: (202) 587-1000
E-mail: afterschool@financeproject.org
Web: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/afterschool

The Afterschool Investments Project provides technical assistance to support program development and administration on issues related to after-school initiatives. The project produces and disseminates information, tools, and materials for supporting and sustaining programs and creating successful partnerships between Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) grantees and many other public- and private-sector partners responsible for improving after-school opportunities in the States.

Contractor: The Finance Project
Project Director: Barbara Langford [Telephone: (202) 587-1000]

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)

Telephone: (615) 322-8150
E-mail: ml.hemmeter@vanderbilt.edu
Web: http://csefel.uiuc.edu

This 5-year project is a national center created to help Head Start and other child care programs identify and implement practices with demonstrated effectiveness in promoting children's social and emotional competence as well as in preventing and addressing challenging behaviors. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a consortium of universities and early childhood organizations to conduct the activities of CSEFEL, among which are to use culturally relevant approaches that are inclusive and responsive to the needs of those it serves, disseminate evidence-based practices, and collaborate with training and technical assistance providers to ensure that practices are implemented and sustained at the local level.

Grantee: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (by Cooperative Agreement from the Child Care and Head Start Bureaus)
Project Director: Mary Louise Hemmeter, Ph.D [Telephone: (615) 322-8150]

Child Care & Early Education Research Connections (CCEERC)

Telephone: (646) 284-9617
E-mail: contact@childcareresearch.org
Web: http://www.researchconnections.org/discover/index.jsp

Child Care & Early Education Research Connections promotes high-quality research in child care and early education and the use of that research in policymaking. Through a free, user-friendly, Web-based repository of research publications, data sets, data collection instruments, and specially developed reviews of research and research-to-policy briefs, Research Connections makes child care and early education research accessible to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Research Connections also provides online technical assistance, convenes meetings on timely research issues, and hosts trainings on the use of data sets in its collection.

Contractor: National Center for Children in Poverty
Project Director: Dr. Jane Knitzer [Telephone: (646) 284-9625]

Child Care Information Systems Technical Assistance Project (CCISTAP)

Telephone: (877) 249-9117
E-mail: ccarc@childcaredata.org
Web: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/ta/ccarc/index.htm

The CCISTAP supports State, Territorial, and Tribal organizations in collecting, managing, and reporting child care data. CCISTAP's major emphasis is on building the capacity of information systems at the local level to improve the quality of administrative data. The methods include software utilities for data providers, computer-based training, and site visits to troubleshoot difficult information systems problems. The project's Child Care Automation Resource Center (CCARC) hosts a Web site and a toll-free hotline. CCISTAP provides technical workshops at the semiannual (ACF) Users Group Conferences, ACF regional meetings, and national child care data conferences.

Contractor: Anteon, a General Dynamics Company
Project Director: Helen Papadopoulos [Telephone: (301) 692-0586]

Communications Management Center (CMC)

Telephone: (240) 631-3947
E-mail: ccbcmc@acf.hhs.gov
Web: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/ta/conf/index.htm

The Communications Management Center coordinates and supports national and regional child care conferences for State, Territorial and Tribal administrators. The CMC supports national leadership forums on critical child care issues, such as child care for infants and toddlers and child care issues in the Hispanic community; the annual CCB State Administrators Meeting; and regional conferences throughout the country in every ACF region.

Healthy Child Care America (HCCA)

Telephone: (888) 227-5409
E-mail: hcca@aap.org
Web: http://healthychildcare.org

The American Academy of Pediatrics promotes child care and health partnerships through an interagency agreement between CCB and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The program strives to educate child care providers about evidence-based health and safety practices, strengthen partnerships between health professionals and early childhood professionals, support the healthy development and school readiness of children in child care, and educate pediatricians and child health professionals about their roles in promoting quality early education and child care. A significant component of the program is targeted to sustaining HCCA objectives within statewide Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems.

National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC)

Telephone:(800) 616-2242
E-mail: info@nccic.org
Web: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov

NCCIC links parents, providers, policy-makers, researchers, and the public to early care and education information through support to CCB and ACF Regional Offices. NCCIC provides publications, conference and meeting support, question-and-answer services, technical assistance and training to States, and maintains the NCCIC Online Library and Web site.

Contractor: Caliber, an ICF International Company
Executive Director: Julie Shuell [Telephone: (800) 616-2242]

National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative

Telephone: (202) 857-2673
E-mail: itcc@zerotothree.org
Web: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/itcc

The National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative works collaboratively with CCDF administrators and other partners to move forward system initiatives to improve the quality and supply of infant and toddler child care. Through Learning Communities and other approaches, the Initiative works with States and Territories to develop a deeper knowledge about the specific elements of the early care and education system that support quality infant and toddler child care. The Initiative collects and disseminates information on infant and toddler child care supply, investments, and initiatives; produces materials and resources; and responds to requests for information and technical assistance related to infant and toddler child care.

Contractor: ZERO TO THREE
Project Director: Dianne Stetson [Telephone: (202) 857-2673]

Tribal Child Care Technical Assistance Center (TriTAC)

Telephone: (800) 388-7670
E-mail: tritac@namshq.com
Web: http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/tribal

TriTAC provides targeted technical assistance services to more than 500 Tribes supported by CCDF. Services provided include a toll-free information and referral line; the maintenance of a Web site offering information on Tribal child care programs, including available resources; an annual national Tribal child care conference; and Tribal cluster trainings.

Contractor: Native American Management Services
Project Director: Linda Kills Crow [Telephone: (580) 762-8850]