Educare
The Educare Vision
Quality early care and education, parenting and health care are essential to children’s growth and development.
The Educare Mission
To promote school readiness by establishing linkages in policy, program and practice that will ensure all children receive a solid foundation for success in school and life
Guiding Principles for Educare Programs:
- Strengthening the ability of child care providers to offer developmentally appropriate early care and education activities and programs.
- Developing and expanding school-linked, integrated services, focusing on the special needs of young children from low-income families.
- Encouraging parental involvement and participation with their child’s developmental process
- Drawing on community leadership for design, implementation and continued involvement to improve early child care and education systems
- Creating programs that are designed to meet the unique needs of communities.
Educare Services Include
- Professional development opportunities for child care providers.
- Individualized home visits for family child care providers.
- Learning bags full of ideas, books and toys.
- Supporting coordination of existing community resources to optimize funding.
- Linking child care providers and families to schools and community resources.
- Increasing consumer awareness of the critical role quality child care has in the development of children.
Currently, our Educare services are available to family home child care providers, state registered vendors, faith-based child care programs and licensed centers receiving DSS subsidy in Greene, Christian, Taney, Webster and Polk counties.
Educare Resources
Educare is funded by the Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division, Early Childhood and Prevention Services Section.
If you are interested in finding out more about the services we offer, please contact Denise Lock at dlock@cpozarks.org.