More Accomplishments
Don't Be in the Dark Campaign Gets New Light
On the heels of CCL's amplified efforts to find unregulated daycare operations and educate the public on the risks associated with choosing them, we revamped the Don't Be in the Dark campaign in the summer of 2016. The newly energized campaign features a new website and was promoted with online and social media advertisements including videos to educate both parents and those who might be operating a daycare illegally. Early results of the new campaign indicate that page views of the website increased from 4,251 in summer 2015 to 64,072 in summer 2016. Furthermore, visitors to the site were spending more time on the site, indicating the content was more engaging and useful than in the past. These early results are encouraging as they indicate both parents and unregulated providers are accessing information that ultimately will improve the safety of children in home care.
Childcare for Preschool and School-Aged Kids with Special Needs
In 2015, CCL partnered with the Texas Workforce Commission and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to develop online and instructor led training and supportive materials to educate childcare providers on inclusive care for infants and toddlers with special needs. This partnership developed from a long standing need for families of children with special needs to find quality childcare. This partnership expanded in 2016 to:
- Give online training and resources to childcare providers of preschool and school-aged children with special needs.
- Offer technical assistance documents to parents of preschool and school-aged children with special needs.
Childcare providers took 54,346 online training courses to learn about ways to care for preschool and school-age children with special needs. Seventy-nine percent of those who completed the training indicated they planned to make changes in their program as a result of the training.