The following are links to other web sites about child care. They are sorted into three categories based on their content. These links are provided as a public service only and the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is not responsible for the content on these web sites. This does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by OECOSL of any product or service offered or referenced or any views that might be expressed or referenced on the linked web site. Links to external web sites and pages may be removed or replaced at the sole discretion of OECOSL at any time without notice.
| Name | Description | Parents & Bus. | Care Providers | Advocates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Childhood Center | The Early Childhood Center works to link research and practice in advancing the field of early education to help all children and families enter school successfully. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Early Childhood Teacher | EarlyChildhoodTeacher.org is an informational resource for current and aspiring early childhood educators. It provides teacher tools, state-by-state guides to teacher certification and more. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children | The Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children is the state's largest organization of early childhood care and education professionals and parents promoting and supporting quality care and education for all young children, birth through age 8. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| IDEM - Protect Children at Child Care | The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, together with child care providers, other governmental agencies, medical personnel and parents, developed the Protect Children at Child Care for child care facilities to help Indiana parents and child care facilities learn about the environmental health and safety threats that may affect their children. The program recognizes child care facilities that exceed state requirements for environmental health and safety. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Purdue Extension Means Business | Purdue Extension has tools and resources to help child care providers in numerous ways, including creating a business plan, health, nutrition, gardening, and other resources. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| About.com: Child Care | ✓ | |||
| The British Association for Early Childhood Education |
Founded in 1923, the British Association for Early Childhood Education is the leading national voluntary organization for early year's practitioners and parents with members and branches in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Editor's Note: This site has a depth of resources and provides an interesting perspective from across the pond. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| California Early Childhood Mentor Program | The California Early Childhood Mentor Program is the largest mentoring program for child care professionals in the U.S. and one that links improved compensation with the Mentor's professional development. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Centers for Disease Control & Prevention | The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, in collaboration with a coalition of national partners, launched a new phase of the "Learn the Signs. Act Early" public awareness campaign designed to help increase awareness about the importance of tracking a child's social and emotional development, including the potential early warning signs of autism and other developmental disabilities. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Child Care Lounge | The Child Care Lounge website is designed for those who care for and about children – child care directors and administrators, preschool teachers, education coordinators, advocates, students, and parents – by providing useful information and resources as well as offering online training classes for child care providers. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Council for Exceptional Children | The Council for Exceptional Children is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Council for Professional Recognition | The council works to improve the professional status of early childhood workers and helps to meet the growing need for qualified child care staff. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Division for Early Childhood | The Division for Early Childhood is one of 17 divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children - the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Early Childhood Education Online | The Early Childhood Education Online website promotes and facilitates information management and exchange. They to serve as a resource and benefit for all children, their families, and all people who help them grow and learn. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Early Childhood Longitudinal Study | The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study program provides national data on children's status at birth and at various points thereafter; children's transitions to non-parental care, early education programs, and school; and children's experiences and growth through the fifth grade. ECLS also provides data to test hypotheses about the effects of a wide range of family, school, community and individual variables on children's development, early learning and early performance in school. | ✓ | ||
| Early Childhood Today | Scholastic Inc., the global children's publishing and media company, has a corporate mission supported through all of its divisions of instilling the love of reading and learning for lifelong pleasure in all children. Recognizing that literacy is the cornerstone of a child's intellectual, personal and cultural growth, Scholastic, for more than 82 years, has created quality products and services that educate, entertain and motivate children and are designed to help enlarge their understanding of the world around them. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Early Connections | Connecting technology with the way young children learn. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Education World | This community has been created to celebrate and support the creativity and dedication of all those who participate in the education of young children. Teachers, parents, aides, and administrators are encouraged to explore these resources and share your ideas for working with young children. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| The Idea Box | Early childhood education and activity resources. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| IN Kids SMS Terms and Conditions | The Indiana Kids text messaging program administrated by the Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning terms and conditions. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators | The purpose of this association is to promote the professional growth of its membership, to discuss the educational issues that are specific to its membership, and to advocate for improvements in early childhood teacher education. | |||
| National Association for the Education of Young Children | The National Association for the Education of Young Children exists for the purpose of leading and consolidating the efforts of individuals and groups working to achieve healthy development and constructive education for all young children. | |||
| National Association of County and City Health Officials | The National Association of County and City Health Officials is the national organization representing local health departments that works to support efforts that protect and improve the health of all people and all communities. The "Emergency Response Planning for Child Care Providers" toolkit was developed in collaboration by the Montgomery County, Maryland Employee SAFE Children Planning Group, Montgomery County Early Childhood Services, Montgomery County Resource and Referral Center, and the Montgomery County APC. The toolkit is designed to prepare child care providers for emergency events and to assist in the recovery effort by helping children cope with the traumatic event. A train-the-trainer guide is included along with a CD-ROM that contains Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. You can also download a free PDF version of the publication. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center | The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center supports the implementation of the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Our mission is to strengthen service systems to ensure that children with disabilities (from birth through age 5) and their families receive and benefit from high quality, culturally appropriate, and family-centered supports and services. | ✓ | ||
| National Program for Playground Safety | The National Program for Playground Safety helps the public create, renovate, and maintain safe and developmentally appropriate play environments for children by providing professional, well-researched, highly informative, practical and user-friendly services, and programs to fulfill this mission. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| PBS Teacher Source | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Project Approach | The purpose of this web site is to provide readers with resources to enable them to carry out projects wherever they may work with children. The site is intended to make available some accounts of successful projects undertaken by teachers working with children of different ages and cultures in different parts of the world. The site also offers more formal means of study of the Project Approach through accompanying online courses for teachers. Finally the site serves as a starting point for discussions on the Project Approach by providing links or access to a variety of listservs (mailing lists), web-based conferences and similar organizations. | ✓ | ✓ | |
| U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission | The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard or can injure children. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| College Affordability | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Rankings of college programs | Education Early childhood Educational leadership | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Grad School Hub | Navigate next steps in your education with comprehensive school rankings, answers to common questions, school profiles, and more. |