Finding New Ways To Improve The Quality of Early Care and Education...

With all the choices available, our services are like a road map to the future.

Today, there is greater recognition of the importance of quality early care and education. Research indicates that children who attend a high quality early care and education program are less likely to have problems in school later on. With more mothers in the workplace than ever before, families are faced with difficult but important decisions concerning the care of their children. With so many options available, they are often unsure of exactly where to turn for information.

GRCMA Early Childhood Directions is a private, non-profit agency that helps people make informed child care choices. The agency provides information and referral services and training programs which serve the entire early care and education community as well as working parents and their employers.

Early Childhood Directions is guided by a primary mission: to improve the quality of early care and education provided to our children. The professionals at Early Childhood Directions are committed to increasing the availability of affordable care for children that is safe, nurturing, and educationally sound. Certainly, the steps that are taken now will have an enormously positive impact on all our tomorrows.

Resource and Referral Services:

The Resource and Referral experts at Early Childhood Directions offer a wealth of informational services pertaining to families with young children. Employees and employers benefit from a variety of referral services that include finding care for employees, parenting seminars, and child development counseling.

Community Coordination and Partnerships:

Working with other child care-related agencies in our area as well as business and government entities, Early Childhood Directions strives to promote public awareness of early care and education issues and the resources available to working families through community events and other public education efforts.

Community Child Care Directory:

Early Childhood Directions also publishes Small Steps, an informative child care resource guide with listings of child care providers and programs in the area we serve. This guide includes consumer education articles as well as checklists to help parents record information as they call and visit child care programs.

Program Services: Charting A Course For Early Care Professionals

Confident, well-trained caregivers are essential to quality child care. Early Childhood Directions offers training opportunities and learning resources for child care personnel that supports quality child care. All children benefit when caregivers take advantage of these programs.

Early Childhood Professional Training:

The training professional at Early Childhood Directions provide 200 workshops and seminars annually, covering an extremely broad range of topics.  Child care professionals are guided in their skill development through a career lattice program that tracks training experiences for individuals working in child care settings through progressive levels of skill attainment. Other training opportunities include specialized programs for child care centers, child care center directors, family child care homes, and parents. Online training classes are also available for students who's professional and family schedule hinders their ability to attend facility based training classes.

Technical Assistance / Program Support:

Early Childhood Directions assists providers with on-site administrative and program training and consultation. Sessions are available on virtually any topic related to a child care operation, and are designed according to the provider's specific needs.

Educational Resources and Program Support:

Available to the community, Early Childhood Directions' The Resource Place is an extensive resource center specializing in educational materials and classroom resources for teachers of young children. The Resource Place also houses the "Reusable Resource Center," involving the business community in donation non-recyclable, reusable by-products and overruns from area manufacturers that are great for classroom use.

Early Childhood Directions also operates the WOWmobile, a customized RV that brings classroom resources and teaching programs to child care settings throughout the area we serve.