Child Care Resource & Referral

Child Care Resource & Referral is a free service that provides information to families about choosing child care, generates child care referrals, and helps families understand their early care and education options in order to make an informed choice about their child care. The referrals generated by the Child Care Resource & Referral system are computer generated based on the needs expressed by a family, and are not recommendations by the Early Learning Coalition.

The Early Learning Coalition values parent choice, and encourages parents to contact the providers on the referral list to arrange interviews in order to determine which provider is the best fit for their child care needs. The ELC recommends parents interview at least three providers prior to making a final decision about care, and suggests that multiple visits at different times of day be made to each provider in order to thoroughly evaluate the program being considered.

Providers are asked to complete a Child Care Resource & Referral form as part of their Provider Network Agreement. The information submitted by providers is entered in to the Child Care Resource & Referral system and is used to generate referrals for families by matching family needs with providers who meet those needs. It is critical that providers contact the ELC to update their Child Care Resource & Referral information any time there is a change to their program in order to ensure families are being given the most accurate information.

Any local child care program can be part of the Child Care Resource and Referral database, even if they choose not to contract with the ELC for participation in the School Readiness Program. To add your program information to this database click here. Please provide the full name of your program along with your complete contact information.