November 2023 Community Newsletter

Local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies build awareness of their services and the importance of early childhood education within the communities they serve and develop partnerships with coalitions and task forces to ensure the needs of families and early childhood programs are considered in planning efforts.

This quarterly newsletter shares what we are doing in the community, what we have coming up, and how community members can advocate for early care and education.

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“Employers have to think about the people you want and the loyalty,” Carver says. “It’s going to be a short time that you're providing child care as an employee benefit, but an employer who does that is going to retain talent, and you're going to have an increase in organizational commitment. This shows that you are a place that actually values the employee as a whole person and not just as a cog.”

Read full article HERE.

By Amanda Schiavo June 15, 2021, 1:17 p.m. EDT

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Indiana employers and non-profit organizations working on behalf of local employers have a new opportunity to support child care for the workforce in their communities.

The Employer-Sponsored Child Care Fund, a collaboration between the Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning and Indiana Chamber of Commerce, is offering funding to help create or expand employer-supported child care benefits. Funding is available to eligible employers and non-profit organizations working on behalf of employers within a local community. Applications are open until Nov. 22.

Considering applying or know an organization or business that might be interested? Join OECOSL and the Chamber for an informational webinar series at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, November 3rd to learn more about the details of the grant support categories with examples. Register now at this link.

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Early Learning Coalitions are groups of people with members from different organizations that put their resources together to better early learning in their community.

Coalitions can make an impact in the community in many different ways. They are encouraging parent engagement in young children with text programs, creating non-formal CDA programs to help providers get the credentials they need, launching programs to make child care more affordable, bringing child care centers to their area to increase capacity and more.

Click on the button below for contact information for existing coalitions, or reach out to us to learn more!

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Reach out to us to discuss this case study about how Monroe County Smart Start is helping to create a community where children are ready for school and ready for life

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"Childcare is a critical component of alleviating the worker shortage crisis. Below are four things employers can do right now to help their employees access childcare. The following sections provide more detailed information on relevant tax credits and benefits options."

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Below you can see some of the places our team has been in the last 3 months!

We were at the WIC Annual Breastfeeding Celebration of Moms, Connersville Peace, Love and Provider Fair, Vigo County Family Child Care Network Meeting, Community Baby Showers, Monroe County Ivy Tech Resource and Involvement Fair, Richmond 1st Annual Veterans Job and Resource Fair, Disability Resource Fairs, and the Muncie Mall Job Fair.

We were at Firefly Region 7 Provider Fair, Better Communities Coalition Launch, Delaware County Exploration into Work Event, Monroe Central Mental Health Night, Brazil Route 40 Fest, Wayne CAN Community Baby Shower, Zero to Three Learn Conference, Statewide Child Care Resource and Referral Kickoff, and Vigo County Farrington Grove Title I Parent Meeting.

We were at multiple community baby showers, Johnson County C9 Adult Job & Resource Fair, IMPA/OCRA Conference, Dancing With the Terre Haute Stars, Community Connect in Putnam County, Grow Up in West Central Indiana Community Forums, DCS Provider Fairs, EIW Veterans Resource Fair, and the Vermillion County Poverty Simulation.

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The Brighter Futures Indiana Data Center offers data related to population, economics, supply and demand. These data points are relevant to many aspects of early childhood education. Whether you are a family trying to learn more about care options in your area, a provider looking to open a new business, or a community member that supports the local early childhood education market in your area – the data center is a tool for you.

Check out local, updated data at the Brighter Futures Data Dashboard

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Use this form to schedule a meeting with someone from our team!

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Allissa has a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in Health Administration, and a Master’s degree in Public Health. Before joining CASY her focus was on health education programs and researching ways to better the lives of the community. Her public health experience is put to use when she is presenting data on the importance of early child care and education to community leaders. Allissa is moved by the impact health disparities have on child care accessibility, quality, and affordability.

Email: atheisz@casyonline.org
Website: https://casyonline.org/ccrr_services/
Phone: 812-231-8905

Ben has a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from IUPUI. He has devoted most of his life serving Country and Community through the military, and social work. His work includes advocacy, child abuse and neglect response/prevention, community outreach and referrals. He strives to connect families to quality early care and education through referral services, webinars, and more. Ben is also looking forward to building positive relationships and sharing the importance of early childhood development and education with families and communities.

Email: bflick@casyonline.org
Website: http://casyonline.org/ccrr-staff-services/
Phone: 812-231-8906

Jennifer has experience as a business owner, childcare teacher, preschool director, and case manager. While living in Georgia, Jennifer created an Early Childhood and Parenting Program and worked with teen moms helping them to learn essential parenting and life skills. She has three degrees from Indiana Wesleyan University, including a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership. Jennifer enjoys building positive relationships and sharing the importance of early childhood development and education with families and communities.

Email: jlee@casyonline.org
Website: http://casyonline.org/ccrr-staff-services/
Phone: 812-231-8916