The History of the Alliance for Children’s Care, Education and Supporting Services:
A.C.C.E.S.S
In January 1997, Maine Child Care Directors Association (MCCDA), Maine Head Start Directors Association (MHSDA), and the Maine Association of Childcare Resource Development Centers (MRDC) met for two days in recognition of the growing demands and increasing inability to respond to the needs of Maine's families and children for accessible, affordable, high quality child care and early education. The State Office of Child Care and Head Start and the Muskie Institute of the University of Southern Maine helped organize the event.
Following this first group, Maine School Age Care Alliance and Maine Family Child Care Association and Maine Association for the Education of the Young Child were included in the vision and work of ACCESS.
Over the past year, the Maine Child Care Director’s Association, understanding the value of this wider vision for young children and acknowledging the need for active advocacy to further this vision, voted to do business as “The Public Policy Committee of ACCESS.
The Mission of ACCESS:
Our mission is to build our community's capacity to offer and ensure that family focused services are available. This demands that we build collaborative relationships with partners concerned with the provision of education and human services to children from birth to age twelve. We must look beyond traditional partners to all those institutions that create the conditions that affect family life.
The Vision for ACCESS:
- Every family will be able to access early care and education in the setting of their choice.
- Every family in need of comprehensive early care and education services will receive them.
- Early care and education providers will become an inclusive community that welcomes, values, and supports all caregivers and parents.
Maine Child Care Directors Association has been around for almost 30 years. Over the years we have been instrumental in forging much of the policy that has improved early care and education in our state. We have collaborative partnerships with many Maine partners in the field including:
Access Steering Committee
Child Care Advisory Council
Maine Roads to Quality
Early Childhood Task Force
Credentialing Subcommittee
Child Care Ratios/Licensing Work Group
Early Intervention Subcommittee
New Partners
Fund for a Healthy Maine
And many more...
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