Missouri Child Care Resource And Referral Network

Training and support - professional development and support were delivered statewide through various initiatives, including the missouri supporting early childhood administrators (mo-seca) program, show me child care resources (smccr), nutrition and physical activity self-assessment for child care (go napsacc), and show me mo emergency preparation, response, and recovery for licensed family child care homes. Mo-seca, a collaborative project sponsored by the missouri department of elementary and secondary education (dese) office of childhood and supported by the university of missouri-kansas city institute for human development's early childhood innovation center, was created to strengthen the business acumen of early childhood administrators. (continued on schedule o)(training and support continued): this program equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to lead and operate sustainable, high-quality child care programs.ccamo provided a four-part business training for family child care businesses and covered essential topics such as fiscal management, record-keeping, general business practices, and risk management. Delivered in both face-to-face and virtual formats, the training included one-on-one coaching between sessions to address participants' specific questions and reinforce their learning. While this training focused on family child care businesses, center-based child care providers were also able to participate. Show me child care resources (smccr) is a subscription-based shared services website for child care educators, directors, and owners, managed by ccamo under a statewide license since 2014. Powered by cca for social good, smccr offers tools for effective management, cost-saving strategies, family engagement resources, and classroom strategies, for the benefit of administrators. The platform also provides access to telehealth and telemental health services, available through private pay or foundational grants. Ccamo supports members with monthly webinars and one-on-one assistance to navigate the site. With over 700 active members, smccr is utilized in 72% of missouri counties.another project led by ccamo is nutrition and physical activity self-assessment for child care (go napsacc), an evidence-based program designed to improve young children's health by enhancing child care programs' practices, policies, and environments. Go napsacc supports licensed and licensed-exempt providers through self-assessment, action planning, and educational tools to prioritize, plan, and implement healthy changes. Providers begin by completing a self-assessment to identify focus areas for improvement across seven modules, including child nutrition, outdoor play and learning, and farm to ece. Ccamo contracts local technical assistance (ta) consultants who coach providers through the program's steps, offering tailored guidance to achieve improvements. Since the project's inception, 122 child care programs have participated, achieving 105 goals and positively impacting 5,390 children. This project, which enhances child care providers' ability to promote healthy eating and physical activity, will continue into 2025.in september 2023, ccamo began delivering show me mo emergency prep, response, and recovery for licensed family child care homes aimed to help licensed child care providers across missouri strengthen their knowledge and expertise in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters and emergency incidents. Providers were invited to attend peer-to-peer networking (ppn) sessions where they could connect with other licensed child care providers and learn from the emergency experiences of child care ambassadors. Through this project, ccamo served vulnerable and underserved populations by collecting demographic data and information on providers' access to amenities such as internet, transportation, and medical services through a participant registration form. This data was used to ensure equitable delivery of services. Attendees from all four sessions came from a variety of backgrounds, including diversity of gender, location/community, and race/ethnicity. To participate in this program, they were required to complete an action plan detailing how they would apply the knowledge gained and how they would change or enhance their practices. This project engaged 30 family and center-based child care programs, impacting an estimated 777 children.

Child care keeps missouri working (cckmw) - cckmw helps families and businesses across missouri access child care with greater ease and confidence. This service simplifies the process of finding child care. Families meet with a specialist to determine their specific child care needs. Families receive a comprehensive report identifying up to six child care programs that match the family's criteria. Research includes reviewing available slots, rates, licensing reports, and basic quality assessments. The specialist reviews the report findings with the family to ensure they can make an informed decision. Employers may also utilize cckmw to address challenges faced by employees. (continued on schedule o) (child care keeps missouri working continued): through partnerships with state organizations and nonprofits, such as missouri works initiative and kids win missouri, cckmw also assists communities meet their child care needs through innovative solutions. This approach reduces the financial burden on families while increasing access to affordable child care options.