Resource and Referral
Contact your local Resource and Referral Agency. View the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency Area Map for address and contact information.
What is a Resource & Referral Agency?
A resource & referral agency is a local nonprofit organization involved in supporting child care services. In WV, at a minimum, the resource & referral agencies:
- Manage the subsidy program
- Link parents with child care options
- Provide consumer information
- Offer technical assistance and training to providers
- Inform parents of other resources in their community
What is Child Care Resource and Referral?
In the early 90's, funding for child care began to increase, particularly with the implementation of the Child Care & Development Block Grant Act. For the first time, states were legally required to expend part of their federal dollars on initiatives designed to improve the supply and quality of its child care programs. Each state developed a long range plan with the assistance of planning groups that brought in state and local government as well as providers, parents, advocates and early childhood experts. One of the main components of West Virginia's State plan was to establish child care resource and referral services across the state. A development of the 1970&s, child care resource and referral agencies (CCR&R) were beginning to appear across the country and were seen as a support for state child care efforts. As the title suggests, these CCR&R agencies were to locate resources for child care and refer parents to available child care options. However, as more states began to contract for child care resource and referral services, the array of services provided began to multiply and CCR&R agencies began to provide services above and beyond that simple definition.
