CHILD CARE SERVICES ASSOCIATION

Working on the local, state and national levels, CCSA envisions a future where all children have equitable access to affordable, high quality early care and education to lay the foundation for successful life outcomes. The strategic plan lays out the goals CCSA will accomplish within the organization and externally with our partners and colleagues. Coupled with strategies and specific action steps, CCSA will provide supports for families, communities and the workforce to strengthen the early care and education system.

1) Build awareness of CCSA, our programs and the impact of our work.
• Implement strategies to tell the story of CCSA and highlight our work.
• Ensure consistent branding across all programs and evaluate re-branding.
• Increase our engagement on the national level.

2) Build capacity and support for the workforce to promote equitable, affordable access to quality early care and education for children and families.
• Provide the early childhood workforce with equitable access to programs and resources that improve education, compensation, and professionalism.
• Advocate for living wages on behalf of early childhood professionals.
• Improve quality through coaching, technical assistance and training.
• Sustain and increase the supply of quality child care in the region.
• Develop the North Carolina early childhood workforce registry.

3) Diversify funding sources to allow flexibility in the administration of services and programs and to support the sustainability of the organization.
• Create and execute a comprehensive development plan that maintains and grows government funding, and increases corporate, foundation and individual support.
• Build an internal culture of philanthropy.
• Market CCSA’s research services as a revenue source.

4) Develop the infrastructure to support a sustainable, high-functioning organization.
• Evaluate organizational structure to enhance communication, efficiency and collaboration. Make needed adjustments to reduce silos and redundancies and promote cost savings.
• Maximize opportunities for career advancement and growth.
• Continue to develop and operate as an employee-centric workplace.
• Embed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the organization’s culture.
• Ensure that CCSA’s facilities, equipment and technology provide the infrastructure necessary to operate as a high quality 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.

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.

In 2020-2021, we helped 1,720 families find the child care program that best met their needs and provided child care scholarships to 758 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 2,046 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. Nearly 100% of T.E.A.C.H. recipients are women, and 49.6% are first-generation college students.

Nearly 3,800 early childhood educators in North Carolina received a salary supplement through CCSA’s Child Care WAGE$® Program, which supplements the salaries of early childhood educators, one of the lowest paid professions in the U.S.; 1,385 infant and toddler teachers received an Infant-Toddler Educator AWARD$® salary supplement, helping to steady the early childhood turnover rate below the national average.

Nearly 577 teachers and directors received on-site technical assistance from CCSA and approximately 3,360 people attended CCSA’s ASK Conference and other professional development opportunities in 2020-2021.

Through CCSA’s T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Center, 23 states and D.C. operated T.E.A.C.H. programs and five states across the country operated WAGE$ allowing 15,382 people to receive T.E.A.C.H. scholarships and more than 8,000 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.