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Child Care Resource and Referral Center Cherokee Nation |
Type of Program:
The Cherokee Nation Tribal Child Care Program operates a certificate program
that serves over 2,000 children in tribally operated centers, contracted centers,
contracted family child care homes, in-home care settings and Head Start extended
day programs.
Effective Program Strategy:
The Cherokee Nation, in collaboration with the state of Oklahoma, operates
a Child Care Resource and Referral Center that serves all families in Northeast
Oklahoma. The Child Care Resource and Referral Center (CCR&R) was established
through a grant from the State of Oklahoma's CCDF program. This regional CCR&R
serves seven counties in Northeast Oklahoma. Services include: a comprehensive
monthly newsletter sent to all licensed and registered providers; training;
a toy lending library; grants to providers; and parent information and referrals.
Resources:
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services/ Division of Child Care provides
funding through their CCDF grant. The Cherokee Nation operates this Child
Care Resource and Referral Center with Oklahoma State CCDF quality funds that
were awarded by the State CCDF Lead Agency through a competitive grant process.
Results:
The Cherokee Nation Tribal Child Care Program has become far more involved
in state early childhood initiatives. The newsletter is sent to 1,400 providers
and parents. Between 35 and 40 persons participate in the training each month.
Eighty persons used the toy lending library this past month.
Lessons Learned:
It
is critically important that all entities in a partnership (i.e., Tribal,
Federal and State) reach consensus on their roles, responsibilities and expectations
at the very beginning of the partnership. By discussing these issues in the
very early stages of a partnership, one can avoid differences in interpretation
that often hinder collaborative efforts.
NOTE: If you have information about an Effective Program Strategy in your Tribal community that you would like to share, please contact the Tribal Child Care Technical Assistance Center (TriTAC) at TriTAC@namsinc.org |
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