Candelen

Candelen's mission is that “We shape communities, Who shape the children, Who shape our future." Our vision is that “Every child have hope, live safely, be supported and happy." The agency is dedicated to improving the quality of child care and supporting all types of formal and informal child care providers.

Quality First Program: Candelen has been subcontracted to provide coaching for the Quality First Program across the state since its inception. In 2017, Candelen's Quality First Coaches supported 387 child care centers and family child care providers, serving over 31,500 children.

The Arizona Kith and Kin Program: This project provides training and support to family, friend and neighbor child care providers through the delivery of 10-week training-support group sessions. Training sessions focus on a variety of early childhood and injury prevention topics. Candelen has been providing kith and kin services since 1999.

NewRoots: NewRoots is a prenatal pilot program in Maricopa County where pregnant families are paired with a full-spectrum doula that supports them prenatally, during the birth, and after the baby is born.

Candelen serves the states of Arizona. The organization has a staff of 75 and is committed to recruiting and retaining staff in the communities they are serving. Candelen manages and partners on diverse projects that all have the end goal of meeting our mission and best supporting young children and their families.

Intentionally including evaluation as a part of each of our programs means that the organization is able to make clear connections between the work we are doing and improved outcomes for young children and their families. As an example, a recent program evaluation on the Kith and Kin Program included: "The Arizona Kith and Kin Program was a success as measured by high participation rates and statistically significant increases on key quality indicators."