Child Care Links Helps Families Seeking Quality Child Care

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Finding satisfactory child care can be a challenge for any parent. Adding financial hardship to an already difficult task only serves to exacerbate the situation and minimizes parents' choices. Fortunately, an agency called Child Care Links can help families in need get both financial assistance and help in locating affordable care for their children.

Child Care Links is a private, non-profit childcare agency that has been in business since 1976. The agency receives funding from the federal government and state funding from the Department of Education. Child Care Links also has a large Alameda County contract for child care subsidies as well as contracts with Livermore, Pleasanton, and Dublin to provide referral services and child care provider training. The agency aids in child care for anywhere from 2,300 to 2,500 children on a monthly basis.

Child Care Links acts as a link between government social service agencies and families. Income-eligible families can receive needed funds to pay for child care as well as education on how to find quality child care. Child care providers, parents, and employers receive one-on-one support and education from the agency, and free child care referrals are provided to all parents in the Tri-Valley area regardless of their income level. Child Care Links currently serves participants out of three offices located in Alameda County, serving the community by providing subsidized child care services, referrals to licensed providers, provider and family education and support services, and employer consultation for child care issues.

"We serve mostly low-income families," says Carol Thompson, executive director of Child Care Links. "Our child care subsidies are on a sliding scale. It's based on the family size, income, and the need for child care. If parents are eligible, they choose the child care in the community that they feel is the most appropriate for their children and then we pay the provider directly. If the parent has to pay a fee, they pay the fee to the agency." If parents are seeking licensed child care for their children and they don't qualify for a state subsidy, they can still use Child Care Links' referral service. Anyone in the Tri-Valley Area can call to get a list of licensed child care providers. "Anybody can use our services," Thompson says. "They don't have to be low income. If a parent lives in Pleasanton and is looking for a licensed child care provider near their child's school, for example, we can help them find what they need. That service is available to everyone at no cost."

The Child Care Links main office is located in Pleasanton at 1020 Serpentine Lane, Suite 102. Other offices operate in Livermore, Fremont, and Oakland. For more information about Child Care Links, call the main office at (925) 417-8733 or visit the agency's web site at www.childcarelinks.org.

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