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Faith-based Child Care Resources and Organizations

The following are a sample of resources related to faith-based child care initiatives, funding streams, and program start-up information to support the faith-based community. Additional resources are available via the National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center (NCCIC) Library, which can be accessed at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?do=oll.search. NCCIC does not endorse any organization, publication, or resource.

Federal Agencies

  • Faith-Based and Community Initiative (FBCI)
    Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    World Wide Web: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/fbci/

    The FBCI Web site features information about FBCI, highlights links to funding opportunities, offers descriptions of featured programs, and describes resources for faith-based and community organizations. The site also provides links to key Web sites, such as the HHS CFBCI, the White House OFBCI, and the Compassion Capital Fund National Resource Center. To submit a question to the FBCI, access the ACF Questions and Answers Support Page at http://faq.acf.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/acfrightnow.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php.

  • Office of Family Assistance (OFA)
    Administration for Children and Families
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    World Wide Web: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/

    OFA is the Federal office responsible for the administration of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The OFA Web site contains a variety of current and historical information about TANF in general and about reauthorization in particular, including TANF work participation rates, TANF Annual Reports to Congress, a summary chart of selected characteristics of State TANF plans, TANF policy documents, and public comments on reauthorization. HHS has regulations for ensuring that faith-based programs are treated as equally as other organizations in competing for funds under the TANF program. The regulations are available on the Web at www.dhhs.gov/fbci/finalTANF_ccregs.pdf.

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
    The Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI)
    Phone: 202-358-3595
    World Wide Web: www.hhs.gov/fbci/

    The mission of the CFBCI is to create an environment within HHS that welcomes the participation of faith-based and community-based organizations as valued and essential partners with the Department to assist Americans in need. CFBCI’s mission is part of HHS’s focus on improving human services for the country’s neediest. CFBCI is the leader of HHS’s efforts to better utilize faith-based and community-based organizations in providing effective human services.

  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
    Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
    Phone: 202-447-3342
    World Wide Web: www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/editorial_0829.shtm

    The Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (CFBCI) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established on March 27, 2006. The CFBCI will coordinate DHS efforts to eliminate regulatory, contracting, and other programmatic obstacles to the participation of faith-based and community organizations in the Department’s social and community service programs. CFBCI responsibilities include developing and coordinating departmental outreach efforts to disseminate information more effectively to faith-based and other community organizations with respect to programming changes, contracting opportunities, and other agency initiatives.

  • White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
    Phone: 202-456-6708
    World Wide Web: www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/

    In January 2001, the President established a White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (White House OFBCI), which will expand the work of faith-based and other community organizations to the extent permitted by law. This office was created to develop, lead, and coordinate the Administration’s policy agenda affecting faith-based and other community programs and initiatives; expand the role of such efforts in communities; and increase their capacity through executive action, legislation, Federal and private funding, and regulatory relief. More information on the Administration’s initiative is available on the Web at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/01/20010129-2.html.

Federal Resources

  • What Congregations Should Know About Federal Funding for Child Care (2003) is a brochure by the Child Care Bureau, ACF, HHS. To receive copies of the brochure, call NCCIC at 800-616-2242 or visit the Web at www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/providers/faithbased.pdf.
  • Guidance to Faith-Based and Community Organizations on Partnering with the Federal Government (2003), by the White House OFBCI, discusses President Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative, which suggests that faith-based charities should be able to compete on an equal footing for public dollars to provide public services. An overview is presented of the Federal grants process and how to apply for a Federal grant. Legal issues are discussed that arise when faith-based groups receive Federal funds. This resource is available on the Web at www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/guidance_document.pdf.

National Organizations

  • Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
    Preschool Accreditation Program
    Phone: 719-528-6906
    World Wide Web: www.acsi.org

    In 1978, ACSI began as the result of a collaboration of several Christian school associations throughout the United States and Canada. ACSI has 16 regional offices in North America and around the globe. ACSI’s membership is currently made up of more than 5,440 member schools in 105 countries worldwide, representing approximately 1,180,000 students. Programs and services are designed to assist Christian schools at every grade level, including early and higher education.

  • Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)
    Religious Action Division
    Phone: 202-628-8787 or 866-274-9654
    World Wide Web: www.childrensdefense.org

    CDF works in partnership with the religious community to respond to the needs of children through worship, direct service, education, community outreach, and advocacy. Additional information about CDF’s Religious Action Division is available on the Web at www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=religious_action.

  • National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA)
    Phone: 314-996-1732 or 800-248-1930
    World Wide Web: http://dcs.lcms.org/

    NLSA is a process of self-evaluation followed by a visit by objective observers to help Lutheran schools improve the quality of their programs. This ongoing process of self-evaluation, improvement, and recognition is based on national standards for child care centers, and early childhood, elementary, and secondary schools. All schools that are recognized by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and The Lutheran Church of Canada—may apply. This resource is available on the Web at
    www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/DCS/ECStandardsManualNEW.doc

Additional Resources

  • To participate in the publicly subsidized child care services program in your State, contact your State Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) agency. Contact information for each State’s CCDF agency is listed in the State Data and Contacts section of NCCIC's Web site at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/dirs/display.cfm?title=ccdf. Information about CCDF, the main Federal subsidy for child care, is available on the Web at www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/ccdf/index.htm.
  • The Microenterprise (Small Business) topic in the Popular Topics section of NCCIC's Web site at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/poptopics/index.html#microenterprise has information about funding resources for small business owners.
  • Child Care Centers, Child Care Subsidies, and Faith-Based Organizations: Preliminary Findings on Five Counties in 2003 (August 2005), by Gina Adams, Monica Rohacek, and Kathleen Snyder, published by The Urban Institute, with the cooperation of the Child Care Bureau and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, is a fact sheet focusing on two issues in five local counties. The issues explored are the role of faith-based organizations in providing center-based child care services, and whether or not faith-based organizations face barriers to participating in CCDF. This resource is available on the Web at www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411207_Centers_Subsidies_FBO.pdf.
  • Funding Faith-Based Services in a Time of Fiscal Pressures (2004), by Courtney Burke, James Fossett, and Thomas Gais, The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, addresses how underlying, long-term fiscal trends are affecting the availability of public funding for services, including child care, delivered primarily by congregations and congregation-based social service organizations. This resource is available on the Web at www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/docs/research/10-26-02_Funding_FB_SS-FiscalPressures.pdf.
  • “Creating Faith-Based Child Care; Creando Centros de Cuidado de Niños de Base Religiosa”(January-February 2003), in Children’s Advocate, by Marissa Brownell, outlines steps to follow for congregation members interested in developing faith-based child care programs. Resources about faith-based child care are included. This document is also presented in Spanish. It is available on the Web at www.4children.org/pdf/103aa.pdf.
  • Start-Up Manual for Faith-Based Child Care Programs (2002), by Debra Lawrence, lists the steps in the process of opening a faith-based child care program. A checklist of preparatory tasks for opening a child care program is included. A list of resources of professional organizations that provide useful information concerning child care programs is also included. To receive copies of this resource, call Child Care Connections at 719-638-2070 or visit the Web at www.childcareconnections.net/providers/faithBasedCCManual.pdf.
  • And a Little Child Shall Lead Them: Communities of Faith and Preschool for All (n.d.), by the California Council of Churches, is a study guide for congregations developed to engage the faith community in a process of theological reflection and policy education about early and afterschool care. The study guide and its companion Website resources at www.usc.edu/crcc/childcare will provide some of the tools needed to understand both the current system of early and afterschool care in California, current proposals for Preschool for All, and new models that have emerged in other States. This resource is available on the Web at www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/childcare/.

Updated January 2008

 
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