Our Mission: Iowa Child Care Resource & Referral provides resources, education and advocacy to support quality child care. CCR&R is committed to ensure that Iowa's vision is met.
| | Gratitude for Community Partners | |
Thank you to the partners, providers, and communities who continue to support Iowa Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) initiatives across Iowa. Your collaboration makes a real difference for children and families. Every shared resource, every training attended, every connection made helps strengthen the child care system we are all working to build. We appreciate the time, effort, and commitment you bring to this work.
Together, we are creating more access to quality care and supporting the success of Iowa’s workforce, families, and future.
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Directors As Leaders (DAL) & Providers Of Excellence (POE)
Connecting, Learning, and Growing Together
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At CCR&R, quality child care begins with strong, supported professionals. To foster connection and growth within the early childhood community, CCR&R hosts quarterly peer-to-peer meetings designed specifically for Child Care Center Directors and Child Development Home Providers.
These gatherings—Directors As Leaders (DAL) for child care centers and Providers Of Excellence (POE) for Child Development Homes—offer an inviting environment for professionals to connect, learn, and share experiences with others who understand the rewards and challenges of early childhood education.
Each meeting includes a structured agenda featuring guest speakers, relevant topics, valuable resources, and opportunities for networking and collaboration. Participants gain new insights, practical strategies, and a strengthened sense of community—all of which directly contribute to enhancing program quality and supporting the well-being of children and families.
Participation in these meetings also supports progress toward meeting Iowa Quality for Kids (IQ4K) requirements, advancing quality improvement goals while promoting meaningful professional development. CCR&R’s peer-to-peer meetings serve as an important platform for connection, innovation, and continuous growth in Iowa’s early childhood system.
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Upcoming Meetings:
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Directors As Leaders (DAL): January 6 at 1:00 PM
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Providers Of Excellence (POE): January 20 at 6:30 PM
For more information, contact the Statewide Communication Specialists at SCS@midsioux.org.
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CCR&R Professional Development
Event Recap
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Midwest Pyramid Model Summit:
CCR&R staff attended the Midwest Pyramid Model Summit in Naperville, IL, where national and regional presenters led keynotes and breakout sessions on applying Pyramid Model practices in early childhood settings. The sessions focused on classroom strategies, program-wide implementation, and statewide initiatives that promote social-emotional development for young children.
Attendees also heard success stories from programs already using Pyramid Practices, showing meaningful gains in teacher confidence, classroom engagement, and reductions in challenging behaviors.
We are grateful for the early childhood professionals across Iowa who continue to advance their skills and invest in quality care. Your commitment to ongoing learning strengthens classroom environments and supports children’s success.
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If you want to learn more about Professional Development for child care professionals
in Iowa, talk to a Training Specialist in your Region today:
Staff List - Iowa CCR&R |🕒 Monday – Friday, 8 am – 4:30 pm
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Resource Center
Empower readers by sharing statewide tools or training opportunities.
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Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA) offers a state policy dashboard tool that tracks child care and early childhood education (ECE) policies nationwide.
The website also provides a variety of resources to support your advocacy efforts, including materials to help you craft messages to elected officials, training webinars, and step-by-step guides to strengthen your advocacy skills.
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The Iowa Child Care Roadmap is a new interactive website that helps you better understand how to bring quality child care solutions to your area.
Whether you are a community member, a child care advocate, or a business looking to start or expand child care services, this is the place to start you on the path to success.
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Attention Child Care Providers!
Virtual Office Hours are a dedicated effort to connect providers with Iowa HHS staff to answer questions and provide support around child care home registration, Child Care Assistance subsidy and billing.
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Can't attend? Sessions are recorded!
Need more help?
Iowa HHS staff are available Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
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Phone: 866-448-4605
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Email: ccaapps@hhs.iowa.gov
You can also connect with Child Care Consultants through the Iowa CCR&R Staff List (link: https://iowaccrr.org/staff/)
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FY25 CCR&R Annual Report
A Year of Progress & Innovation
The CCR&R Annual Report is coming in early December. Watch for insights on statewide progress, major initiatives, and the collective impact of supporting Iowa’s child care system.
Key Highlights Include:
- LEEAD Pilot & Behavioral Health
- Growing Iowa Funds
- Iowa Roadmap Launch
Read the Report:
The FY25 Annual Report will be available on the CCR&R Data webpage. We invite you to explore the report and learn more about our ongoing efforts to support Iowa’s families and child care providers.
| | | Child Care News Around Iowa | |
Strengthen Your Emergency Preparedness Plans
As the leaves change and fall sets in, it’s the perfect time to review your Emergency Preparedness plans! Ensuring that your plans are current and effective is crucial for the safety of your program. Take the time to familiarize yourself with these important procedures in case of an emergency.
| | “Blue sky days are the time to plan!” | | |
Your emergency plans must include procedures for:
- Evacuation and relocation
- Sheltering-in-place
- Lockdown
- Addressing the individual needs of children, including those with functional or access needs
- Communication and reunification with parents and other approved individuals
- Continuity of operations
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Helpful Resources:
There are various templates and tools available to assist child care providers in meeting their program's needs. Click here to explore resources and templates.
The Iowa Disaster Human Resource Council (IDHRC) works to bring together agencies to foster more effective response and recovery for the people of Iowa during times of disaster. Find more resources and information on their website www.iavoad.org
Child Care Aware maintains a library of resources for child care programs to support emergency preparedness efforts.
Find more here: Emergency Preparedness - Child Care Aware® of America
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Iowa HHS Annual Notification to Providers
Emergency plans are critical to your child care business to prepare, respond and recover from an emergency or disaster.
Just like your requirement to have a child care emergency plan, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must also have a child care emergency and response plan. When a significant disaster happens, part of the state-level plan is to work with Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) to get information from child care businesses and determine the disaster’s impact on the community’s child care infrastructure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) identifies “child care” as an ‘essential service’ for disaster recovery.
When there is an emergency or disaster in a community or county, CCR&R may send you an email with a link to a survey to find out if there is damage to your child care business. The survey will take you approximately 3-5 minutes to complete. The information you provide helps us evaluate the impact of the disaster on child care and if resources are needed to restore child care services in the community. You can also contact your CCR&R consultant or CCR&R agency to let us know if your business has sustained damages or if your business is operational and has child care spaces available to children that cannot receive care from their current child care provider.
In an emergency or disaster, we all need to work together because the child care services you provide are important to both families and the community.
Click here to learn more about Iowa’s Statewide Child Care Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan.
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Kayas Corner
Kaya says Thank You!
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Family & Community Partnerships:
When child care programs create fun and meaningful ways for families to be involved, it strengthens school readiness and builds a sense of connection between home and care. When families take part in their child’s learning, children do better and feel supported by both their caregivers and the people they love.
Here are some simple ways programs can welcome family involvement:
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Orientation time: A chance for providers to learn about the child and family.
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Family events: Activities where providers, children, and families can meet, play, and learn together.
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Conferences: Time for parents and providers to share how the child is learning and growing.
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Sharing traditions: Families can bring in foods, books, or holiday ideas from their culture.
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Parent meetings and surveys: Opportunities for parents to learn more, ask questions, and give feedback.
Activity Idea:
Host a family gathering and create a “Thankfulness Wall.” Invite providers, children, and families to add notes about what they’re thankful for and display them where everyone can enjoy them.
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How has participating in IQ4K®
strengthened partnerships with families?
“The thing that makes me the most proud is that families can see the difference in our center. They can see we are moving in the right direction to be the best center we can be.”
– Child Care Center Director
Would your program like to share a testimonial about how IQ4K® practices have strengthened family partnerships?
Submit your testimonial today and help us celebrate the power of quality child care in Iowa.
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🚀 Hop on Board with IQ4K®!
Join hundreds of child care providers committed to continuous quality improvement! Like Kaya, we’re making giant leaps in building quality child care—one block at a time.
Leap today and elevate your program!
Contact an IQ4K Specialist
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✈️ i-PoWeR!
i-PoWeR makes it easy to find Iowa HHS-approved training and keep a record of your completed professional development all in one place.
Visit the i-PoWer registry
Need help getting started?
Your Child Care Consultant, Training Specialist, or the i-PoWeR Help Desk is ready to support you.
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🎯 Parent Services!
If you want to learn more about child care options in Iowa and what to look for when choosing quality child care, talk to a Parent Services Team Specialist:
📳855-244-5301,
Monday – Friday from 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, or email the team at childcare@episervice.org
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📲 Update Your File!
CCR&R now has an online system that lets you update your child care program's profile!
CCR&R Database Link
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🛒 Community Access to Child Care Resources!
Request and reorder resource materials directly from the CCR&R website! This user-friendly option is designed with your needs in mind, ensuring swift access to some of our most utilized resources.
Explore the new resource page today and streamline your requests!
| | | | Funding provided by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services through the Child Care and Development Fund | | | | |
