Let us know which groups you have found to be helpful!

Provider Groups

Child Care Providers
Vermont Child Care Providers Association (VCCPA): a state-wide, nonprofit, professional organization offering peer support as well as access to information and resources. Members advocate on the local, state, and national levels to assure that the needs of child care professionals are met. Membership fee is required. To find out more about the VCCPA call (802) 657-2529 or visit VCCPA's web site at http://www.geocities.com/vccpa.

Child Care Center Directors
Join a group of Chittenden County child care center directors who are interested in getting together to share ideas, support and information. For more information or to become a part of this group, call Julie Brigante at (802) 879-2811.

Local Child Care Provider Groups
Many Chittenden County towns have groups of providers who get together monthly. Please contact us for up-to-date information.
E-mail: referral@childcareresource.org or call CCR at (802) 863-3367.

Vermont Organizations

Included here are groups whose missions are rooted in the child care field and are either unique to Vermont, or are local affiliates of national organizations.

Child Care Fund of Vermont: a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build a long-term, sustainable base of financial and moral support to strengthen and improve child care in Vermont. It is a component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation.
Contact: Mary Barrosse Schwartz
Telephone: (802) 362-7148
E-mail: mbschwartz@vermontel.net

Early Childhood Connection of Chittenden County: Includes parents, providers and anyone interested in children. The focus of this group is advocacy efforts on behalf of the early childhood field.
Contact: Nancy Sugarman at ECC
Telephone: (802) 652-5138
E-mail: ecc@sover.net

Kids are Priority One email network: a listserv dedicated to communicating about Vermont's Priority One legislation (Vermont Senate Bill 84), which focuses on improving the early care and education system through advocacy efforts.
E-mail: VTPriorityOne-subscribe@egroups.com

Northern Lights Career Development Center
Child Care Resource aligns professional development opportunities with Level I and Level II of the Northern Lights Career Development Center’s Core Competencies for Early Childhood and Afterschool Professionals. Please visit the Northern Lights Career Development Center’s website at: http://northernlightscdc.org for information on Core Competencies, Level I and Level II curriculum and other information pertaining to professional growth.

Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VAEYC): a statewide professional organization for early childhood professionals. (NAEYC Affiliate)
Web Site: www.vaeyc.org

Vermont Children's Forum (VCF): a statewide nonprofit organization that works on various children's issues, including early care and education.
Telephone: (802) 229-6377
Web Site: www.childrensforum.org

Vermont School Age Care Network: A new network for those interested in quality experiences for school age children.
Web Site: www.voost.org/vsacn

National Organizations

Many of these national organizations have local affiliates in Vermont. Let us know which organizations you have found to be helpful!

Children's Defense Fund (CDF): a national children's advocacy organization.
Telephone: (202) 628-8787
Web Site: www.childrensdefense.org

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): a national professional organization for early childhood professionals. Offers a center based accreditation process.
Telephone: (800) 424-2460
Web Site: www.naeyc.org

National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC): a national organization that provides support, information and accreditation for those providing or interested in family child care.
Telephone: (800) 359-3817
Web Site: www.nafcc.org

National School Age Care Alliance (NSCA): a national organization that gathers local networks of care providers under one national umbrella, bringing together their collective wisdom and experience. Offers accreditation for school age programs.
Telephone: (617) 298-5012
Web Site: www.nsaca.org

Redleaf National Institute: The Institute's National Center for the Business of Family Child Care helps providers successfully manage their businesses.
Telephone: (651) 641-6675
Web Site: www.redleafinstitute.org

Center for Career Development in Early Care and Education - Wheelock College: The Center strives to improve the quality of early care and education by creating viable career development systems for practitioners.
Telephone: (617) 734-5200
Web site: ericps.crc.uiuc.edu/ccdece/ccdece.html

Child Care Action Campaign: An advocacy organization that works on policies and programs that increase the availability of quality child care.
Telephone: (212) 239-0138
Web site: www.childcareaction.com

Child Care Law Center: Works exclusively on legal issues concerning the establishment and provision of child care.
Telephone: (415) 495-5498
Web site: www.babycenter.com/refcap/1421.html?cp_bid=

The Children's Foundation: Conducts research and provides information and training on federal food programs, quality child care, leadership development, health care, and enforcement of court-ordered child support.
Telephone: (202) 347-3300

ERIC/EECE: Collects and communicates research, literature, fact sheets, and briefing papers on the physical, cognitive, social, educational, and cultural development of children from birth through early adolescence.
Telephone: 1-800-583-4135
Web site: www.ericeece.org

Families and Work Institute: Committed to developing new approaches toward balancing the changing needs of America's families.
Telephone: (212) 465-2044
Web site: www.familiesandworkinst.org

Center for the Child Care Workforce: Committed to improving the quality of child care services through upgrading the compensation and training of teachers and providers.
Telephone: (202) 737-7700
Website: www.ccw.org

National Child Care Association: A trade association that represents the private, licensed early childhood community.
Telephone: 1-800-543-7161
Web site: www.ncca.org

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care: Seeking to enhance the quality of child care by supporting state and local health departments, child care regulatory agencies, child care providers, and parents in their effort to promote health and safety in child care.
Telephone: 1-800-598-KIDS
Web site: http://nrc.uchsc.edu

National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST): Works to improve the quality and quantity of school-age child care programs through collaborative work.
Telephone: (617) 283-2547
Web site: www.wellesley.edu/WCW/CRW/SAC/

USA Child Care: A membership organization of early childhood service providers and advocates committed to serving low-moderate income children.
Telephone: (202) 488-8135
Web site: www.usachildcare.org