Inclusive Child Care

	Wisconsin CCR&R Network, Inc. "Making Child Care Work"	Inclusive Child Care

Mobilizing Partners Project... A partnership designed to address the barriers encountered by parents of children with special needs.

Inclusion supports the right of all children, regardless of their diverse abilities to participate actively in natural settings within their communities.

-Position statement of the Division for Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children.

The Mobilizing Partners Project is managed by the Wisconsin Child Care Improvement Project. For more information, contact Jane Penner-Hoppe, Project Coordinator.

The Wisconsin Child Care Resource & Referral Network is a member of the Mobilizing Partners Project statewide team. Mobilizing Partners is a three year demonstration program funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Developmental Disabilities. The project is managed by the Wisconsin Child Care Improvement Project. Mobilizing Partners will work intensively in five Wisconsin counties to promote inclusive child care--the kind of child care that offers quality services for all children.

The hubs of activity are in five community-based child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agencies, each working in one county in their service delivery area:

4C Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc. (Milwaukee County);

Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc. (4-C) (Sauk County);

Child Care Resource & Referral Services of Greater Racine and Kenosha, Inc. (Racine County);

Child Care Connection, Inc. (Marathon County); and

Mid Wisconsin Child Care Resource & Referral (Waushara County).

The Mobilizing Partners project will:

identify key local child care concerns;

assist parents looking for child care for children with special needs;

develop local teams that include key leaders in inclusive child care services;

link agencies and resources at the local level to better meet the needs of child care providers and parents; and

offer appropriate training and resources for improving the amount of inclusive child care.

The overall outcomes of this project are to:

build new and reinforce existing collaborative relationships at the state and local level that promote the use of quality, inclusive child care;

increase awareness of the need for inclusive child care at the state and local level;

increase resources available for inclusive child care;

increase the number of children with disabilities in child care;

provide better support and training for parents looking for child care; and

increase the capacity of providers to c

are for children with disabilities, special health care needs or other special needs.

Special Needs Survey Report