What does Family Connections do?

We help child care providers…

• through trainings and workshops on quality child care topics and issues
• learn more about opportunities available to them
• through promoting recognition and educating the public on child care issues
• by providing technical assistance and consulting
• through supporting them in their YoungStar jouney

We help families…

• ease the burden of child care expenses by paying a portion of weekly child care fees to regulated providers through our Connections grant program
• learn more about quality child care through free educational materials and technical assistance regarding child care issues.

We help communities…

• through educating the public on child care needs and issues
• through investing in our young by supporting the child care providers our children spend time with
• through recruitment and retention of child care providers to help keep our economy strong and families working while their children are in quality child care

Mission Statement

Family Connections supports and educates families and early childhood professionals to promote healthy child development and strengthen communities.

Connections Program:  Connections is a program, currently only serving Sheboygan County, which connects families to child care and community resources through offering care management on child development, quality child care indicators, community resources trainings, budget counseling, and volunteer hours are required of the families we work with.  Eligible families receive not only care management, or one-on-one support, but also 20% of their co-payment child care costs (if participating in WI Child Care Subsidy) or 20% of their general child care costs (when families don’t qualify for WI Shares but are still eligible for Connections) are then paid directly to the regulated child care provider.  We utilize current community agencies by referring families we work with to agencies that can support them and do not duplicate services. We work one-on-one with the families to determine their unique family care management plan and aid them in the journey towards self-sufficiency.

Child Care Resource Development Program:  We offer professional development opportunities to child care providers through trainings, workshops, and technical assistance (support provided via the phone, in-office, email, etc.) so they are able to offer quality child care services, retain their job position, and we also aid prospective child care providers who are interested in becoming a child care provider.  Some of the trainings we offer include:  Shaken Baby Syndrome Training, SIDS Training, Strengthening Families: Protective Factors, Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards Training, Environmental Rating Scales, Family Involvement, ASQ Training, to name a few.  Regulated providers receiving continuing education hours from us are more likely to offer care for young children that is safer, healthier, and also more likely to promote appropriate development across a child’s domain areas of learning.  We also provide a lending library with materials for providers across a variety of early childhood subjects.