Links

Visit the websites of other organizations who share CCW/AFTEF’s vision of quality child care for all families and fair wages for caregivers.

Child Care and Early Education Research Connections
www.childcareresearch.org
Research Connections is an effective tool for researchers and policymakers that facilitates access to current research and findings, datasets, statistics, instruments, and other analytic tools related to child care and early childhood education. It is a partnership among the National Center for Children in Poverty at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University; the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan; and the Child Care Bureau, Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is a web-based, interactive database of research documents and public use data sets for conducting secondary analyses on topics related to early care and education. Research Connections highlights current research; develops and disseminates materials designed to improve child care policy research; provides technical assistance to researchers and policy makers; synthesizes findings into policy research briefs; and facilitates collaboration in the field.

Child Care Services Association
www.childcareservices.org
CCSA is a non-profit, United Way agency committed to improving the affordability, accessibility and quality of child care. Through research, services and advocacy, CCSA works to improve the child care system in local communities of Durham and Orange counties, throughout the state of North Carolina and across the United States.

Child Care Law Center (CCLC)
www.childcarelaw.org
The Child Care Law Center (CCLC), based in San Francisco, CA is a national nonprofit legal services organization that uses legal tools to make high quality, affordable child care available to every child, every family, and every community. CCLC is the only organization in the country devoted exclusively to the complex legal issues that affect child care. Their work encompasses public benefits, civil rights, housing, economic development, family violence, regulation and licensing, and land use.

Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)
www.childrensdefense.org
CDF was founded in 1973 as a private, nonprofit advocacy organization. CDF works on a range of children’s issues including health, poverty, mental health, child care, youth development and school violence. CDF also coordinates a number of projects including the Black Community Crusade for Children and faith-based advocacy efforts.

Child Trends, Inc.
www.childtrends.org
Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to studying children, youth, and families through research, data collection, and data analyses. Child Trends was established in 1979 and currently has a staff of 50 researchers, analysts, and administrative and support personnel.

Child Welfare League of America (CWLA)
www.cwla.org
CWLA is an association of more than 1,100 public and private nonprofit agencies that assist over 3.5 million abused and neglected children and their families each year with a wide range of services including child care, foster care, housing and homelessness, juvenile justice, and health services.

Council for Professional Recognition
www.cdacouncil.org
The Council works to improve the professional status of early childhood workers and helps to meet the growing need for qualified child care staff. Founded in 1985, the Council is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to increase the status and recognition of early care and education professionals who care for children from birth through 5 years of age in child care centers, family child care homes, and as home visitors. As part of the Council’s mission to professionalize the early child care field, a training team travels across the country to conduct workshops and seminars for early childhood educators and publishes books and manuals which report on the trends and developments in the field.

Early Childhood CDA Help
www.easycda.com
This site is a great online link to support for those who are considering or working towards CDA Credentials.

Early Childhood Today
www.scholastic.com/earlychildhoodtoday
It is a free, online magazine that gives early childhood educators access to:

• Our rich early-childhood archive, including advice, teaching strategies, and appropriate practice guidelines from those prominent early-childhood experts that you’ve come to rely on
• New articles from your favorite Early Childhood Today experts as well as early-childhood experts new to the Scholastic family
• Exciting activities to engage and inspire every child in your classroom
• Answers to questions about classroom management, behavior issues, developmental expectations, and more
• Monthly themes and theme-based support materials that will guide your program planning throughout the year
• The latest news and trends happening in our field today
• Strategies for successful parent-involvement programming
• Free prizes

Educational Resources Information Center, Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC-EECE))
www.eric.ed.gov
The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information system designed to provide ready access to an extensive body of education-related literature. Established in 1966, ERIC is supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement and is administered by the National Library of Education (NLE). The EECE clearinghouse provides a variety of services and products that can help users stay up to date on a broad range of education-related issues. Products and services include research syntheses, electronic journals, online directories, reference and referral services, and document delivery.

Families and Work Institute
www.familiesandwork.org
Families and Work Institute (FWI) is a non-profit center for research that provides data to inform decision-making on the changing workplace, changing family and changing community. Founded in 1989, FWI is known for its non-partisan research into emerging work-life issues; solutions-oriented studies addressing topics of importance to all sectors of society such as healthy development and school readiness for young children; and fostering connections among workplaces, families, and communities. Business and community leaders, policy-makers, individual families, educators and the media make use FWI’s rigorous research.

Family Initiative
www.familyinitiative.org
The Family Initiative is a national effort to educate, engage and mobilize families from all walks of life to support major public investment in quality child care, preschool and afterschool.

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
www.fightcrime.org
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a bipartisan, nonprofit anti-crime organization led by police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, victims of violence and leaders of police officer associations. It is led by National and State Advisory Committees which include over 1,400 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, and victims of violence, as well as the presidents of the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National District Attorneys’ Association and the International Union of Police Associations. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids uses current research to assess what works to keep kids from becoming criminals and puts that information in the hands of policy-makers and the public.

First Class Teachers
www.firstclassteachers.org
an associate membership program of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), is exclusively designed to meet the needs of the early childhood education workforce.  The goal of First Class Teachers is to organize and mobilize a diverse group of early childhood educators and their allies to advocate for fair and decent employment for this profession and reliable, affordable and high-quality early care and education services for families.

For more information about First Class Teachers, please call 1-800-238-1133 or visit www.firstclassteachers.org.

National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA)
www.naccrra.net
NACCRRA is a nonprofit agency that provides technical consultation and resources to member child care resource and referral agencies. Local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) organizations help parents of choose care - giving them referrals to local child care providers, information on state licensing requirements, availability of child care subsidies, and other pertinent information. CCR&Rs provide guidance by phone, in person, and in other ways, such as the internet, that are tailored to each individual family.

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
www.naeyc.org
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the nation's largest organization of early childhood educators and others dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children from birth through third grade. Founded in 1926, NAEYC has over 100,000 members and a national network of nearly 450 local, state, and regional Affiliates. NAEYC Affiliate Groups work to improve professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education and to build public support for high quality early childhood programs.

National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI)
www.nbcdi.org
Since 1970 NBCDI, a nonprofit organization, has provided and supported programs, workshops, and resources for African American children, their parents and communities in early health and education, health, elementary and secondary education, child welfare, and parenting. Through hands-on service and community-outreach programs, NBCDI initiates positive change for the health, welfare, and educational needs of all African American children.

National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC)
www.nccic.org
The National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC) has been established to complement, enhance and promote child care linkages and to serve as a mechanism for supporting quality, comprehensive services for children and families.

National Easter Seal Society
www.easter-sealsdc.org
Easter Seals assists more than one million children and adults with disabilities and their families annually through a nationwide network of more than 450 service sites. Each center provides top-quality, family-focused and innovative services tailored to meet the specific needs of the particular community it serves.

National Head Start Association (NHSA)
www.nhsa.org
The National Head Start Association (NHSA) is a private not-for profit membership organization representing more than 952,000 children, upwards of 180,000 staff and more than 2,400 Head Start programs in America. It is governed by a 49-member Board of Directors composed of a director, staff, parent and friend representative from each of the 12 federal regions and the immediate past Chairman of the Board. NHSA provides a national forum for the continued enhancement of Head Start services for poor children ages 0 through 5, and their families.

National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER)
www.nieer.org
NIEER is a unit of Rutgers University, primarily funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with a goal of providing the research base needed to provide a quality preschool education to all 3 and 4 year olds in the country.

National Institute for Out-of-School Time (NIOST)
www.wellesley.edu
For more than 20 years, NIOST, at the Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College, has brought national attention to the importance of children’s out-of-school time, influenced policy, increased standards and professional recognition, and spearheaded community action aimed at improving the availability, quality and viability of programs serving children and youth. NOIST’s initiatives are focused in three areas: research, evaluation and consultation; policy development and public awareness; and training and curriculum development.

National School Age Care Alliance (NSACA)
www.nsaca.org
NSACA is a national membership organization that represents the entire array of public, private, and community-based providers of after-school programs. NSACA has over 8,000 members and thirty-six affiliated state organizations. NSACA sponsors a national conference for over 2,500 practitioners and advocates. NSACA promotes national standards of quality school-age care for children and youth 5 - 14 years old, and grants accreditation to programs meeting the standards. NSACA is headquartered in Boston and has a public policy liaison located in Washington, D.C.

National Women’s Law Center
www.nwlc.org
The National Women's Law Center has worked since its inception in 1972 to protect and advance the progress of women and girls at work, in school, and in virtually every aspect of their lives. The National Women's Law Center is working to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of child care, with a special emphasis on ways to expand public and private financing of the changes needed to achieve these goals.

Stand for Children
www.stand.org
Stand for Children is a grassroots the membership organization that developed from an event held in 1996 where more than 300,000 people came to Washington, DC to attend the Stand for Children March, the largest rally for children in American history. Anyone can become a member of Stand in communities to work on advocacy strategies for a variety children’s issues at the community, state, and national level.

USA Child Care
www.usachildcare.org
USA Child Care is a membership organization that aims to effect policies that improve child care for low- and moderate-income families. USA Child Care represents and works with active statewide organizations of child care providers across the country to ensure they are informed and engaged in public policy and works with legislators and policy makers to improve child care services for low- and moderate-income families.

Voices for America’s Children
www.childadvocacy.org
Voices for America’s Childern is the only national organization devoted to building the capacity of state and local child advocacy organizations. Founded in 1984, NACA is a nationwide network of child advocacy organizations working at America's statehouses, county commissions, and city councils on a broad spectrum of children’s issues.

Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives
institute.wheelock.edu
Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives is the new name for an existing early childhood career development national policy initiative, formerly called the Center for Career Development in Early Care and Education (est. 1991). The goal of Wheelock College Institute for Leadership and Career Initiatives is to develop a diverse, nationwide cadre of highly effective leaders in the field of early care and education. They focus on helping states, local communities, and higher education institutions create training and support systems ("career development systems") tied to increased compensation/benefits.

Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA)
www.ywca.org
Three hundred thirteen YWCAs, united under the umbrella of the YWCA of the U.S.A., make the YWCA movement: the largest provider of shelter services for women and their families in the country, a leader in violence prevention, offering programs and services to more than 700,000 women and children annually, and the country's largest nonprofit provider of child care services, with 750,000 children participating in child care and after-school programs annually.

Zero to Three
www.zerotothree.org
Zero To Three is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated solely to advancing the healthy development of babies and young children. Founded in 1977 by top developmental experts, Zero Three disseminates key developmental information, trains providers, promotes model approaches and standards of practice and works to increase public awareness about the significance of the first three years of life.

To add your organization’s link, send an email to ccw@aft.org.