Partner Spotlight: 4C for Children

For more than 50 years, 4C for Children has been a cornerstone of support for families and child care professionals across Southwest Ohio and the Miami Valley. As the state-designated Child Care Resource and Referral agency for 15 counties, 4C for Children empowers the adults who care for young children through education, training, and advocacy. From coaching child care providers and connecting families to quality programs, to collaborating with local partners on community-wide initiatives, 4C for Children works every day to ensure all children have the foundation they need to thrive.

Q. Tell us a little about your organization. Where are you located? Who do you serve and what do you focus on?

A. 4C for Children educates and supports the adults who care for children and advocates for public support for quality early education and care for all children. As the state designated Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency for five counties in Southwest Ohio and ten counties in the Miami Valley, 4C for Children has offices in both Cincinnati and Dayton.

4C delivers services through three key program areas: quality programs, family & community services, and child care business services. These programs support families and child care providers in various ways. The key initiatives within each of these service areas are described below.

• Quality Programs: provides coaching to child care programs assisting them with quality improvement efforts including earning and maintaining a Step Up To Quality rating and creating optimal learning environments. 4C also develops and provides Ohio Approved training to raise the level of professionalism in the field and increase the quality of care for young children.

• Family and Community Services: assists families in finding and selecting quality child care that meets their unique needs, empowers families by connecting them with the local and state resources they need, and recruits and supports foster, adoptive and kinship care families.

• Child Care Business Services: provides a comprehensive range of tools, training, and coaching to individuals seeking to launch or expand family child care or center-based programs, recruits and assists individuals with training and mentoring to begin a career in early childhood education, and supports licensed family child care providers in promoting healthy eating habits and securing reimbursement for serving nutritious, well-balanced meals.

Q. When was your organization founded?

A. 4C for Children was founded in 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio by a coalition of agencies and funders with the purpose of coordinating, planning and advocating for quality child care for working families.

Q. What’s a recent project, program, or win that you're especially proud of?

A. 4C for Children is especially proud of our work with family child care (FCC) providers and the associated impact we have seen in our community over the past year. These small business owners help provide a home-like atmosphere while supporting the individualized needs of the children in their care. Most offer flexible, non-traditional hours that help meet the needs of families working late, overnight shifts and weekends. This past year, 4C provided coaching and training support to 644 FCC providers and helped 67 new FCC providers obtain a license to provide care.

Q. What’s one issue you're keeping a close eye on right now?

A. Access to high-quality, affordable child care, continues to be a challenge for families in our 15 county region and across the country. This is especially true in regard to care for infants and toddlers. 4C for Children closely monitors the number of programs and the number of individual child care seats in our community. We continually gather information and data to understand the factors that positively or negatively impact the supply of child care. This is critical to shaping our response and implementation of programs in our community.

Q. How do you partner with families and communities in your work?

A. Outreach is at the heart of what we do. We actively connect with other agencies to explore partnerships, whether for a single event, a shared project, or long-term collaboration. Guided by community needs, we brainstorm solutions and create innovative ways to meet families where they are, from face-to-face interactions to social media to printed materials. We believe knowledge is power: by helping families understand the quality of child care they deserve and the resources that are available to them, we take the first step toward lasting change.

Q. How did you first hear about or get involved with Groundwork Ohio?

A. As a member of the Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association (OCCRRA), 4C for Children has been partnering with Groundwork Ohio since their start in 2004 to help advance the well-being of Ohio’s youngest children.

Q. What do you wish more people understood about the families you serve or the work you do?

A. We want our community to understand the challenges working families face to secure high-quality, affordable, child care and the ripple effect across our community. Child care staff are the workforce behind the workforce. Disruptions within the child care system impact all areas of our community: workforce, local economy, family financial stability, and early care and education of our youngest children.

Q. How do you work with other organizations or community partners to create change?

A. We collaborate with community partners to efficiently and effectively serve the families and child care programs in our community.

4C recently partnered with United Way of Greater Cincinnati (UWGC) in Southwest Ohio and Preschool Promise in Montgomery County to streamline services for families that need them the most. In Southwest Ohio, 4C is working with UWGC on a pilot project using their 211 resource directory to help support the work of 4C’s Parent and Youth Ambassadors by connecting families directly to the resources they need. In Montgomery County, 4C is a collaborator with local organizations on a new initiative called Be Ready by 5 that works to help prepare families with children 0-5 for success in Kindergarten and beyond.

Q. What keeps your team inspired or grounded in this work?

A. 4C for Children team educates and supports the adults who care for children. Our team understands that to make a positive difference in the lives of children, each child must have a secure and loving environment with adults who are actively and positively engaged in their lives. Helping the families and child care providers that we serve make a positive impact on the children in their lives keeps the 4C team inspired and grounded in this work.

Q. Why is advocacy important to your work?

A. As a key piece of our community’s infrastructure, child care, early learning and development, and the overall continuum of care for children is an important focus of dialogue. Advocacy for local, state and national investments in early learning and care is critical to the current and future success of the communities that we serve. 4C for Children works to educate and engage everyone (business leaders, elected officials, community leaders, families and more) in our community – about the key needs and challenges faced by our local families, children and all those who support their care and development.

Q. What do you think is important to help make Ohio the best place to be a young child?

A. When children in Ohio benefit from high-quality early learning, they’re not only more likely to succeed in school and life, they’re also more equipped to contribute to the strength of our local communities and long-term economic success.

We must provide wrap-around support to families and those who care for Ohio’s young children. They need access to resources and support to provide care, early learning and development, and a continuum of care both inside and outside the home. They also need to be equipped and empowered to make the best decisions possible to ensure the growth and development of the children in their care. This support is made possible by strong, organized strategies and investments by national, state and local governments, paired with a system of human service agencies and a community that is well-informed and engaged in advocating for community resources