Program areas at 4-C
Child and adult Care food program: this program provides financial assistance to qualified providers so nutritious meals can be offered to children in their Care. The program's staff offers direct technical assistance on a variety of concerns. Specialists also provide nutrition workshops and create articles and other informational handouts. The program is available to licensed and certified family Child Care providers in over 20 counties. This usda funded program is administered by the Wisconsin department of public instruction. 4-c is one of the sponsors of this program in Wisconsin.
Child Care training and professional development: provides services for early childhood Care providers/educators. High quality, affordable training and technical assistance is offered to family Child Care providers, Child Care center directors and staff, non-profit board members, and parents. The training and professional development department coordinates the services of the resource room. A large variety of materials, resources and educational equipment are available for 4-c members, to borrow or use, from the resource room.
Child Care resource and referral: assists parents, as informed Child Care consumers, in their search for early Care and education for their children. The referral department maintains a database of regulated Child Care businesses. Referral specialists provide consultations for parents when evaluating programs and costs and provides them with a current list of regulated Care professionals from the database. Enhanced referrals are provided for special populations such as individuals entering aoda treatment. Employer services offer a broad range of options that enable employers to address the work/family needs of their employees. Data from the provider database is used to develop data reports for the 4-c service area and is provided to the Child Care resource and referral network for statewide data reports on early childhood education and Care. Community outreach/public relations increase public awareness of early childhood education and Care services and issues. Advocacy efforts, interagency collaboration, and dissemination of information of Child Care policies and issues are a main focus of the outreach and public relation staff. The outreach staff assists eligible families to access Child Care subsidy information and services and provide other information to parents at a variety of Community functions. Specialized services are provided to the hispanic/latino communities in dane county that assist with startup training and support for latino Child Care providers.
Family Child Care certification: the program is required for providers caring for Wisconsin shares (w-2) Child Care clients and voluntary for other providers. Certified family Child Care providers meet the minimum standards for health and safety. Parent/provider communication is integral to the certification program. 4-c provides technical assistance and connects certified providers with resources to help them in their Child Care business. This is a contracted service with dane county department of human services and columbia county health and human services, which meets the state requirement for certification of family Child Care homes serving fewer than 4 children.