Additional Resources for Parents & Families

• Choosing Child Care: A checklist to help families select a child care setting that is most suitable for their needs. (Available in English & Spanish.)
• Need Help Paying for Child Care? A handout on who to contact regarding possible help in paying for your family’s child care. (Available in English & Spanish.)
• Is My Child Ready to Stay Home Alone? A simple checklist to help families decide if a child is ready to stay home alone. (Available in English & Spanish.)
• Parent Support Groups - A listing of local parenting groups (Available in English & Spanish.)
• Resources for parents with young children.

• TrustLine is a registry program available to all California parents. If you want to use in-home child care or license-exempt child care providers, you can check to see if a provider is registered on TrustLine by calling 1-800/822-8490 and giving the person’s full name, driver’s license number or other approved identification. A provider registered on TrustLine has been fingerprinted and cleared of any disqualifying criminal offenses. If your current caregiver or the caregiver you are interviewing is not TrustLine registered, call TrustLine’s 800 number to learn how they can apply (1-800/822-8490) or visit their website. Call the Child Care Switchboard for more information: 831/476-8585 or 831/763-8725.

• You have the right to review Licensing reports and substantiated complaints regarding a licensed child care facility (both child care centers and family child care homes). You can review records at the facility itself, or call Comunity Care Licensing at 408/277-1241.

• This Human Resource Agency program helps families pay for child care while they are participating in a Welfare to Work activity. Call the HRA CareerWORKs Child Care offices 831/454-4033 or 763-8555 for more information.

• The Voucher Project, part of the Santa Cruz Parents Association, administers an Alternative Payment Program that can help eligible families pay for child care. They keep a waiting list of families based on need and income. When families reach the top of this APP waiting lists, they have their child care paid for directly and are allowed to choose from most programs in the county, including licensed child care centers, family child care providers and individuals who are not required to be licensed. 831/688-2152.
  
• Centralized Eligibilty List
  The CEL is a new system that gives parents access to low cost or free child care through one application. The wait list for subsidezed care just got easier. Call to learn if this program is for you.

• Established by the Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors, First 5 Santa Cruz strives to ensure family friendly services and education are available so that each child reaches age 5 healthy, ready and able to learn and emotionally well developed. 831/465-2217

• Helps children with special needs achieve their full potential by offering support, information and resources to strengthen and empower their families and the professionals who serve them. P. O. Box 2367, Santa Cruz, CA 95063-2367

• The CCPC sets priorites for state and federal child care funds in Santa Cruz County. The Council consists of parents, providers, school and governmental representatives and interested citizens. They meet on the third Thursday of each month, from 2:30-4:40, at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Call to find out how you can become involved: 831/479-5320.

• 560 J Street, Suite 220, Sacramento, CA 95814; 916/323-1312 Administers a variety of early care and education programs to improve the quality of child care & serve families throughout the state. One of their projects, "Care About Quality," is a child care consumer education campaign. Call 1-800-KIDS-793 or visit their website.