We are all lifelong learners. Granted, for some of us, the pursuit of learning is an inherent strength. For others, it can be a challenge, a heavier lift, but our changing world demands it of us. So for folks like me, where it most certainly is not a strength, we take a deep breath and dive in. And we survive, often even thrive, and want to share that learning with others. But let me back up.

The 2019 Leadership Institute has come to an end, and we are in full planning mode for our 2020 Symposium – Breakthrough Barriers, Breakout Solutions on May 3 - 6 in Crystal City, Virginia. But before we put the 2019 Leadership Institute to bed, I wanted to share some of the highlights from the week.

Child Care Aware® of America is in full planning mode for our 2019 Leadership Institute - Exceeding the Vision, Expanding the Possibilities. This year our Institute will be held in beautiful Minneapolis, Minnesota, from October 6 – 9 at the Embassy Suites Hotel.   

The Leadership Institute (formerly known as the State Network Leadership Institute / Membership Council Institute) was created to enhance the future of the Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) community by developing the skills of current and future leaders in the industry. The Institute’s content and engagement activities are particularly relevant to CEOs, executive directors, program directors, leaders and emerging leaders at State CCR&R Networks, Local or Regional CCR&R agencies and CCR&R Parent Agencies. We encourage you to invite your key state and community partners to join you at the Institute to reflect on and plan for your joint work.  

The Power to the Profession task force recently released the Decision Cycles 345 + 6 draft document. See a high-level overview of the decision cycles by downloading our fourth e-book in our Power to the Profession series: Understanding the Recommendations from Decision Cycles 345 + 6. The goal of these Decision Cycles is to establish the very first unified framework of the early childhood education workforce that defines the professional preparation, responsibilities, scope of practice, specialization, and compensation needed to drive policy, funding, and systems change in our field.

As a Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency, you play a critical role within your state and community. The work that you do every day to help families learn about and locate quality child care for their unique family needs is not only important to that specific family but to the community at large. Equally important is the work that you do with early childhood educators and potential educators. You spend countless hours working to build the supply of quality child care either by providing professional development opportunities and coaching to existing child care programs or seeking out and helping individuals open new child care programs. It is important that you have the resources that you need to help with this work.

Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) was originally known as the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).  It was founded in 1987 by a group of dedicated child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agency leaders that banded together to create a national membership agency to help them advance their collective mission. Child care across the nation has come a long way in the past thirty years thanks to the dedicated leaders that began the CCR&R field.