CHILD CARE SERVICES ASSOCIATION

The goals of Child Care Services Association reflect our work ethic and dedication to improving the child care system. They guide us in our decision making and how we steward the resources entrusted to us. These goals and objectives enable CCSA to become an agency that truly makes a difference.

Goal One:
To ensure that no family pays more than 10% of its gross earnings to purchase child care for one child.

Goal Two:
To ensure that high quality child care is accessible to all children.

Goal Three:
To ensure that all child care is of high quality.

Goal Four:
To model how services are delivered to young children and their families and to child care providers.

Goal Five:
To be a financially, viable, strong and effective organization.

Everyone wants their child to have the best chance at their best life, and CCSA works to ensure that every child has equal access to the affordable, high quality child care that will put them on a strong footing for success. Quality early education is vital to the success and growth of our young children, and research has shown that early experiences, vital for successful brain development, have an impact on children well into adulthood.

In Invest in Early Childhood Development: Reduce Deficits, Strengthen the Economy, James J. Heckman said, “The highest rate of return in early childhood development comes from investing as early as possible, from birth through age five, in disadvantaged families. Starting at age three or four is too little too late, as it fails to recognize that skills beget skills in a complementary and dynamic way…The best investment is in quality early childhood development from birth to five for disadvantaged children and their families" (2012).

Through our work with families and early childhood educators, and our research into the quality of early care in NC, CCSA puts all its available resources into ensuring that all children, regardless of their circumstance, can receive the quality care that is so pivotal in their early years. By supporting the early childhood educators and professionals themselves and allowing them to stay in their chosen field, CCSA is reducing the turnover in child care centers, increasing the quality of education the children receive there, and putting the next generation on a path toward success. And by prioritizing its technical assistance to programs serving children receiving subsidy for all its technical assistance projects, CCSA works closely with the centers with the highest number of families earning low-incomes, giving them a boost toward success for their staff and the children that attend. By supporting the careers and futures of today's early childhood educators, we are not only providing economic and social supports to that workforce, we are building tomorrow by ensuring that every child can grow, learn and be successful.

Founded in 1974, Child Care Services Association (CCSA) has worked to ensure affordable, accessible, high quality child care for all families through research, services and advocacy for nearly 45 years. We are more than just an agency working to improve child care; we are also an association of groups, individuals and volunteers committed to supporting the right of young children and their families to have the best possible life.

Headquartered in the Triangle region of North Carolina, CCSA is a leader and advocate in child care services on the local, state and national level. We collaborate with many partners, businesses and stakeholders to address needs within the child care system. CCSA is only a part of the broader community's commitment to create systemic changes affecting everyone.

In 2019, Child Care Services Association commemorated 45 years of ensuring that all children have access to--and their families can afford--the high quality early care and education that is so critical to their development. To do that, CCSA focuses on all aspects of early childhood education, with programs for families, children and early childhood educators; high-quality child care is so important for the brain development for young children, and CCSA works holistically to ensure that each child can grow and learn in a stable, secure environment with educated and motivated teachers trained in early childhood development.

Also in 2019, we helped more than 3,000 families find the child care program that best met their needs and provided child care scholarships to 730 children to help ease the high cost of child care. In addition, CCSA’s Meal Services Program provided nutritious meals and snacks for nearly 1,400 children daily in Durham, Wake and Orange counties.

Last year, CCSA also offered scholarships to 2,106 early childhood educators through its T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® NC Program (T.E.A.C.H.), which helps teachers earn a debt-free education in early childhood development. T.E.A.C.H. recipients are continuing their education at 56 community colleges, 13 public universities and five private colleges/universities in North Carolina.

Nearly 4,150 early childhood educators in North Carolina received a salary supplement through CCSA’s Child Care WAGE$® Program, which supplements the salaries of early childhood educators, one of the lowest paid professions in the U.S.; more than 1,100 infant and toddler teachers received an Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$® salary supplement, helping to steady the early childhood turnover rate below the national average.


Nearly 550 teachers and directors received on-site technical assistance from CCSA and approximately 700 people attended CCSA’s ASK Conference in 2019, which provided a full day of professional development for early childhood educators in North Carolina.

Through CCSA’s T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center, 20 states and D.C. operated T.E.A.C.H. programs and five states across the country operated WAGE$ allowing 17,500 people to receive T.E.A.C.H. scholarships and more than 6,000 people to participate in WAGE$.


Under contract with Durham County Government, CCSA began Durham’s initiative for universal preschool, Durham PreK. As of 2019, 16 centers are now Durham PreK sites, where CCSA educates families about the importance of high-quality early education and helps community-based early education programs meet the Durham PreK standards through quality improvement and technical assistance, including weekly on-site coaching for child care centers and professional development for educators.