Childcaring

Your Local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency

Provider Resources

Week of the Young Child
Music Monday
Tasty Tuesday

Work Together Wednesday

Artsy Thursday
Family Friday

Join us for a fun-filled week celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers, families, and communities.

Provider Appreciation Day

Provider Appreciation Day® is a special day in May to recognize child care providers, teachers and other educators of young children everywhere.

Caring for Children With Special Needs
  • A Thinking Guide to Inclusive Child Care
  • The YoungStar Inclusion web pages provide helpful tips and resources for
    child care providers and families.
  • Child Find is a continuous process of public awareness activities which may include screening, designed to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities who may be in need of early intervention programs of special education as soon as possible.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Early Childhood Education Vaccine Information

Wisconsin Department of Health Services: “Covid-19 Vaccine Eligibility for Child Care Workers”

COVID-19 Guidance
For Early Childhood Professionals
Family Support & Resources

Health Resources for Employees & Children

Back to School Information

Back to School Guidance
The Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) and the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) strongly recommend collaboration between child care providers and local education agencies (LEAs)/schools to find ways to meet family needs. They have produced a series of Back to School guidance documents to help child care providers, LEAs, and parents navigate the reopening of school this fall.

Child Care Provider Roles and Responsibilities for the School Year 2020-2021
DCF has received numerous questions from child care providers about their roles and responsibilities when caring for school-age children. DCF has developed a flyer that outlines general expectations for  child care providers and school teachers during the 2020-2021 school year.

COVID-19 Information for School Health Services Webpage (Department of Public Instruction)

National, State, Local Organizations
Financial Resources
For Child Care Businesses
  • Apply for New Child Care Counts Funding Sept. 9-18, 2020
    Governor Evers announced an additional $30 million of CARES Act funding to support early care and education providers.
    The Child Care Counts: COVID-19 Supplementary Payment Program is designed to help counter troubling trends persisting in the aftermath of the public health emergency. The additional round of funding will be distributed through two new programs targeted at the current challenges early care and education providers are facing.
    Providing safe, healthy, and high-quality child care opportunities
    This program is intended to support the costs of maintaining or enhancing compliance status, quality level (YoungStar rating), and increasing health and safety practices. Funds will help ensure high-quality care is available across the state, specifically at younger ages where reasonable alternatives to child care do not exist.
    Funding staff recruitment and retention efforts
    As providers move back to regular operations, many have struggled to bring back staff due to depressed wages. This program is designed to support the costs associated with recruiting and retaining high-quality staff.
    Eligible providers can submit their applications for the two programs from September 9-18, with payment notifications being issued on September 26, 2020. Read more about the program details.
Applications Closed: Child Care Counts: COVID-19 Supplementary Payment Program – Round 2(

Gov. Evers, DCF Secretary Amundson Announce $50 Million for Additional Child Care Counts Payments for Early Care and Education
Gov. Tony Evers, with Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Emilie Amundson announced $50 million in funding for an additional round of Child Care Counts payments for early care and education. Read the complete press release here.

“Throughout our public health emergency, Wisconsin has been a leader in prioritizing the needs of the early care and education community,” said Gov. Evers. “We know what’s best for kids is best for our state, and we have to connect the dots by making sure our families have access to safe, affordable, and high-quality child care so more people can remain in our workforce.”

The Child Care Counts: COVID-19 Supplementary Payment Program – Round 2 has similar criteria to the most recent awards. It consists of two programs targeted at the current challenges early care and education providers face. The application period runs October 26 through November 6. Applications and program eligibility details will be available on DCF’s website starting October 26, 2020 with the application window closing November 6, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.

Resources to Support Refugee & Immigrant Families
  • This regularly updated list of trainings, primarily focused on early educators, offers various trainings on topics such as resiliency, cultural competency and trauma-informed care, that would be helpful in supporting immigrant and refugee children and families.
  • SFTA Newsletter (Issue 25), see pages 7-9: Supporting Refugee & Immigrant Families
  • Department of Children & Families, Refugee Resources: This webpage offers Wisconsin-specific and national links to resources, programs and agencies supporting refugee children and families.
  • Department of Health Services, Trauma-Informed Care Resources: These resources will help you to build a foundation of understanding and knowledge to implement trauma-informed care in your work.
Military & Veteran Family Resources

ZERO TO THREE has developed resources specially designed for military and veteran families and the professionals who serve them. 

Babies on the Homefront App provides military and veteran parents ideas for enhancing everyday moments with their baby or toddler.  Parents can sort information by their young child’s age and specify their situation as At Home, Leaving Soon, Deployed, Home Again, a Veteran, or visiting a hospital. The app also allows quick access to a series of vodcasts on parenting for military and veteran families.

Military Families Resources for Young Children | Sesame Street Explore parenting advice and tips to find information on self-expression, positive parenting, and answers to common concerns of military families.

Military Child Education Coalition | MCEC  provides programs and resources to address the unique educational challenges that face military-connected children.

Tolerance/Anti-Bias and Equity in Early Childhood
  • Advancing Equity in ECE Position Statement – NAEYC
  • Becoming Upended: Teaching and Learning about Race and Racism with Young Children and Their Families – NAEYC
  • “Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race”. Erin N. Winkler, Ph.D., UW-Milwaukee
  • Children’s Peace Education & Anti-Bias Library
    • A curriculum for young children and books to teach peacemaking with young children.
  • Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events – Child Care Aware of America
  • How to Talk to your Children about Protests and Racism – CNN
  • Racial Justice, Equity and the Role of Child Care – Webinar
  • Teaching Tolerance Website: Resources around implicit bias and systemic racism.
Family Health Center of Marshfield

Family Health Center of Marshfield, Inc., is a federally funded community health center. We strive to enhance community health by bringing high-quality health care services to people who can’t afford them. Learn more here.