Home » Partners & Parents » Child Care Information » Looking in All the Right Places

Looking in All the Right Places

© Julie Renaud

Knowing how to spot a quality child care provider is only part of the process. Finding out WHERE the caregivers are located is another matter. Fortunately there are a number of resources for finding care, and you should use as many of them as possible.

CCR&R AGENCIES

Residents of most cities have access to the services of a Child Care Resource & Referral agency. CCR&Rs provide child care information and referrals for parents and listings, technical assistance and support for child care providers. Information on legally operating programs, including child care centers (care in a facility), family child care homes (care in an individual's home), preschools (usually part-time programs) and school-age programs, is listed in a database. Parents looking for care can request a list of programs that meet their needs. For instance, you may need part-time care for a two-year-old on the west side of town. The CCR&R database can provide a list based on those criteria. The exact provider data collected will vary among CCR&Rs, but they usually have very detailed information. In addition to referrals, they can also supply you with information on how to evaluate programs and in some cases link you to resources that assist with child care costs. To find the CCR&R nearest you, visit the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies at http://www.naccrra.net for links to local agencies.

INTERNET

There are several sites on the Internet that will allow you to search a database of program information just like the CCR&R agencies do. Note, when you use your favorite search engine to locate a child care directory, try several different search words. Try child care as one word (childcare) and as two separate words. The same rule applies to daycare and day care. Also try early childhood education. Most of the databases are small and may not list programs in your area. The most extensive database seems to be at http://www.carefinder.com. They state that they have almost 200,000 child care centers and homes listed in 15,000 cities and 20,000 zip codes. Most of the listings include only the name, address, phone number and age range, but providers have the option of submitting additional information. Carefinder allows parents to contact providers, view comments and ratings from other parents and add comments and ratings.

PHONE BOOK

Phone books list those child care programs that have chosen to place an ad. Therefore the listing will not include all the providers in your area, and some ads may provide more detail than others. Child care centers are more likely to have an ad than are family child care homes.

The copyright of the article Looking in All the Right Places in Child Care Information is owned by Julie Renaud. Permission to republish Looking in All the Right Places in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.