One year later, memories of the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey are grey and hazy, much like the lingering autumn skies that dropped trillions of gallons of water across Greater Houston. Before the flood waters receded, Collaborative for Children, the Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency for the 13-county Greater Houston region, faced a critical challenge; with so many child care providers reaching out to report damage and rising concern that the storm had destabilized the entire child care network, who should step forward to seek solutions? With so much at stake, the Collaborative for Children made the decision to step forward.

The Problem 

By law, child care programs must have a disaster plan to keep children and staff safe in an emergency. However, developing one can be complicated. 

The Problem 

Every year, more than one million children under 6 years old in the U.S. experience homelessness. How can providers support these vulnerable children and their families? 

In a recent post, we talked about the benefits of mobile texting for CCR&Rs and child care providers. In this post, we’ll look at two case studies of successful mobile texting in action.

Some families where breast milk is milk of choice don't always rely on the mother to handle feeding. Sometimes, the mom pumps milk so that co-parents or other family members participate in the feeding process—and sometimes provide breast milk to child care providers to feed infants too.  

The Problem 

Many different adults can impact the way a baby or child eats, including parents/caregivers and providers. However, those important adults may not understand or practice responsive feeding – the process of recognizing an infant's cues for hunger or fullness and responding appropriately.