New Organization to Promote Quality Child Care

A need to collaborate on important solutions to problems that confront quality child care providers in eastern Cuyahoga County has led to the creation of an organizatio call the Eastern Cuyahoga County Child Care Center Network (ECCCCN).  Child care center directors and in-home providers have been invited to come together monthly to talk, plan, and act on topics of quality early care and childhood education.  Coupled with Jessica Mason, Home/School Counselor for the Euclid City School District, and Maureen Wilson, early childhood outreach provider for the Euclid Public Library, directors and employees of approximately 15 local child care and preschool centers and homes have met monthly for lunch and conversation.

One of the first acts of this new organization was to create a letter addressed to the Cuyahoga County Department of Job and Family Services to express the families' (and consequently the centers' administrators') frustrations with the current child care voucher system and concerns with the newly proposed swipe card system.  Issues with the new county administration and the newly proposed state budget were also mentioned.  As a result of this letter, a meeting with Cuyahoga County department officials took place recently and the conversation among the participants netted an understanding of the concerns for all parties and provided the educators with valuable resources to help resolve future problems.

If you are an early care and education provider, consider joining the network.  Contact Debbie Barberio at the Euclid Schools' Child Development Center 216-797-4360 or Jennifer Boger at Kiddie City 216-481-9044 for more information.