Program Description

Program/Practice Description: The Emergency Child Care Assistance Program resides within the larger referral organization, Quality Care for Children, and provides crisis intervention services to low- and middle-income families. Such crises may include incarceration, illness, new jobs without child care supports, domestic violence, and other issues. The program partners with local providers to offer up to 6 weeks of free child care, then works with families to develop mid-term and long-term solutions to their child care needs.

Innovations and Results: The program is the only one of its kind in the Atlanta area that offers this crisis intervention service to stave off the need for foster care. The program services an average of 300 families every year who experience a variety of issues. Domestic violence represents the most frequent issue, and 75 percent of services are for low- to middle-income women. While 99 percent of customers work, these families maintain an income level that offers little or no security in times of crisis.

Funding: Quality Care for Children does not market the program because it can accept only a limited number of families due to budget constraints. Fifty percent of funds cover the salary of the emergency child care manager, and the other 50 percent goes directly toward paying partner-providers. The program obtains funds through grants from foundations, local county government, and the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.

Important Partnerships: The Emergency Child Care Assistance Program partners with a pool of 15 providers who regularly provide child care and have an opening to receive an emergency customer. Child care providers must be legal within the State, have 10 or more hours of training, and undergo quarterly training for crisis intervention. The majority of providers are family child care providers who keep the children overnight if necessary.