A California Statewide Collaborative

BUILDING CHILD CARE A California Statewide Collaborative BUILDING CHILD CARE PROJECT OVERVIEW The Building Child Care (BCC) Project exists to provide a centralized clearinghouse of information and services designed to improve child care providers’ access to financial resources for facilities development projects in California. Who are we? Funded by the California Department of Education, Child Development Division, BCC is a collaboration of four organizations: - The National Economic Development and Law Center, - The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network, - The Child Development Policy Institute Education Fund, and - The Child Care Facilities Fund of the Low Income Investment Fund. Who do we serve? - Child care center and family child care home providers throughout the state who are either involved in or interested in expanding, renovating, building and/or purchasing facilities, - Technical assistance providers such as Resource and Referral Agencies, Regional Resource Centers, Local Planning Councils, Small Business Development Centers, and professional consultants (e.g. architects, contractors, and designers), who help providers develop and finance facilities, and - Financial resource agencies that fund child care facility projects in California. What do we do? 1. Identify resources that currently exist to help child care providers in developing and financing facilities, including: a. Local and regional technical assistance resources, b. Financial resources in the form of loans and grants, and c. Publications and other materials that financial resource agencies and the child care field can turn to for information about facilities development and financing. 2. Improve access to existing resources by: a. Providing direct assistance and referrals through our toll free phone line 888-411-3535, b. Training local and regional technical assistance providers about how to help child care providers with facilities development and financing in their communities, c. Providing information for providers, TA organizations, financial resource agencies, and others in the field through an interactive project website: www.buildingchildcare.org, d. Training child care providers to help them become better educated about how to successfully finance and develop facilities, and e. Compiling and distributing information about publications and other educational materials that financial resource agencies, TA providers and the child care field can turn to for help. 3. Expand resources and work to break down barriers in the field by: a. Holding focus groups in targeted communities to gather information about statewide barriers in the field, and developing strategic responses based on this information, b. Connecting grant-makers and lenders with the child care field, c. Identifying gaps in existing publication resources and filling them accordingly. Examples include: Architects and Contractors Referral List, Child Care Facility Development Checklists, Considerations for Child Care Providers Partnering with Housing Developers, and two Case Studies, and d. Ensuring that existing, identified resources are maintained and utilized successfully in order to drive the demand for expanded resources.