La elección de un proveedor de cuidado de niños es una decisión importante. Los buenos arreglos para el cuidado de niños pueden mejorar la vida diaria no sólo de los niños sino también de los padres. Por otro lado, los niños que participan en programas de cuidado de niños de alta calidad tienen niveles más elevados de éxito al ingresar a la escuela. Sin embargo, saber qué buscar en un programa puede resultar difícil y un poco desconcertante. ¿Exactamente cómo se define el cuidado de niños de alta calidad?

Choosing child care is an important decision. Good child care arrangements can improve the daily lives of children and parents. In addition, children in high quality care have higher levels of success when they enter school. Yet it can be difficult and confusing to know what to look for in a program. What exactly is quality child care?

Since 2015, Child Care Aware® of America’s Health Policy Team has partnered with teams in 12 states to explore a broader definition of health in child care through our “Healthy Child Care, Healthy Communities” technical assistance project. Along with our state partners, we conducted research, communications and advocacy projects covering diverse health topics from nutrition and active play to injury prevention and inclusion. Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) played a pivotal role on nearly every state by connecting us to data, convening partners and lifting up provider and community voices to inform our understanding of healthy child care. 

Even with early and careful planning, finding the right child care provider can be difficult for families. The challenges often seem overwhelming for parents searching for a provider that is qualified to care for a child with special needs.  

Did you know that there are approximately 12.5 million children in some sort of regular child care arrangement? Yet there are communities across the country where the supply of child care doesn’t meet the need for child care. Child Care Aware® of America helped states quantify families’ child care needs through our Mapping the Gap™ project, and learned a lot about child care gaps across the US:  

Child Care Aware® of America Releases Report on Child Care Supply Crisis and Offers Solutions

Licensed child care is in short supply, but Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies can help