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General Info » About Us
In 1979, a group of local women, concerned with both child care availability and quality in the area, incorporated a not-for-profit organization which they called the “Grand Traverse Area Community Coordinated Child Care Council.” It was better known in our region as simply “4C.”
The Council was formed as a part of the Michigan 4C, a larger group that was created initially from a task force in Washington in 1969-70, as the nation prepared for the 1970 White House Conference on Children. In 1972, Governor William G. Milliken endorsed the Michigan 4C Committee as the state level planning and coordinating body for children’s services, and local chapters were formed throughout the state.
As the local 4C was formed in Grand Traverse, a strong effort was made throughout the state to facilitate citizen participation in public policy and decision making, and on advocating on behalf of Michigan’s children. The State office was eliminated shortly thereafter, though 4C offices managed to continue providing the same services under contract with the Michigan Department of Social Services.
In the mid-1980’s, the Michigan Women’s Commission worked to determine the needs of children in our state and initiated negotiations that led to the creation of a new 4C state office, this time with a 501(c)3 status. Governor Blanchard established the “Michigan Child Care Clearinghouse” within the Department of Commerce, supporting business initiatives in employer-sponsored child care. AAA of Michigan engaged the Michigan 4C Association to provide child care referrals for employees, and as the 1990’s began, the Ford Foundation provided a grant to expand child care provider training. This initiative was called “Michigan Child Care Futures,” and promoted the training of child-care workers throughout the state. Additionally, Michigan 4C received the contract for child care provider training from the Michigan Department of Social Services.
Throughout the 1990’s, new grant providers took interest in the Michigan Child Care Futures project, including the Skillman Foundation, the Michigan Department of Education (enabling the inception of the Early On program), the Frey Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation, and the Mott Foundation. Local entities provided additional money for the Northwest Michigan 4C. As Governor Engler introduced “To Strengthen Michigan Families” and the Department of Social Services became the Family Independence Agency, our local 4C continued to provide referral services, resources and information, trainings for child care providers, technical assistance, lending libraries, sponsorship of the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and trainings that focus on care of children with special needs. The Northwest Michigan 4C Council held the first area conference targeting parents.
In 2000, the Northwest Michigan 4C Council changed their logo and created a DBA (Does Business As) name to better reflect what we do, Child Care Connections. Connecting parents to providers, connecting providers to the food program, connecting providers to trainings and professional development and connecting with the community.
In 2006 the funding for resource and referral services was put out for bid. Child Care Connections was awarded a contract with the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC), a public/private entity on the state level. In 2009, another opportunity to bid on services was submitted by Child Care Connections for the Great Start Regional Resource Center-Northwest. This was awarded to Child Care Connections and the focus is on professional development and quality improvement for all types of child care programs. Now Child Care Connections is a Great Start Regional Resource Center for the Northwest region. We are coordinating our services with the three Intermediate School Districts, the Great Start Collaboratives in our region as well as Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency.
As the Regional Resource Center we are responsible for coordinating a professional development system which will improve the quality of early care and education. We are now assisting the state with the launch and implementation of Great Start to Quality and the Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System. When the rating system goes “live” in the fall of 2012, consumers will be able to view quality indicators to help them make informed child care choices.