NACCRRA: A Leading Voice for Child Care

The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), a CDC partner, is one of the nation's leading voices for child care. It works with more than 700 state and local child care resource and referral agencies nationwide. These agencies help ensure that families in 99 percent of all populated ZIP codes in the United States have access to high-quality, affordable child care.

The mission of NACCRRA is to promote national policies and partnerships to advance the development and learning of all children, and to provide vision, leadership and support to community child care resource and referral. To achieve its mission, NACCRRA leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care professionals, undertakes research and advocates child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families.

Child Care Aware/Child Care Aware Parent Network

Child Care Aware® is a NACCRRA program funded since 2002 through a cooperative agreement with the Child Care Bureau and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Initially launched in 1988 as a project of Dayton Hudson Corporation, Child Care Aware® is committed to helping parents find the best information on locating quality child care and child care resources in their community. The program does this by raising visibility for local child care resource and referral agencies nationwide and by connecting parents with the local agencies best equipped to serve their needs.

In 2006, Child Care Aware® set out to create a national platform for parents, grandparents and everyone who cares for and about children. After two years of learning about how to best connect and serve parents on a national level, as well as conducting focus groups and completing a national study of parent's perceptions of child care, Child Care Aware® began the work of developing a responsive organization that would meet the needs of busy, active, compassionate and plugged-in parents.

Through this initiative, the Child Care Aware® Parent Network —a membership organization within NACCRRA—was created. The network brings parents, grandparents, child advocates and champions together with millions of people to share concerns about access to safe, affordable and nurturing child care. Members are offered top-notch information on parenting, child care and, in exchange for their support, networking tools to support the cause.

More Information

NACCRRA has a variety of programs and resources available. For more information, visit NACCRRA Publications online.