Advocate for Stronger Child Care
Child care is essential infrastructure for healthy families, a strong workforce, and thriving communities. Your voice can help elevate the needs of child care professionals, families, and programs across central Indiana. Child Care Answers connects people, knowledge, and partnerships so more of us can work together toward shared solutions for early care and education.
Stronger child care takes shared action
When child care professionals are supported, children, families, and communities are stronger. Advocacy helps decision makers understand that is not only a family issue. It is a workforce issue, an economic issue, and a community infrastructure issue.
Share Your Story
We're always looking for great quotes and stories to share with those interested in using or supporting our services.
Leverage Data
Our reports and data webpage brings together dashboards and research from trusted experts to inform your conversations.
Stay Informed
Legislation and regulations change frequently in central Indiana. Sign up for our mailing list to receive the latest news via email and/or text.
Contact Elected Officials
It's important that your local, state, and federal elected officials know where you stand on the importance of early care and education in your community.
Investing in child care is not just an investment in children and families; it is an investment in the building blocks of our country and communities. And it will take all of us, at all levels, to solve the child care dilemma in Central Indiana and beyond.
Mollie Smith
Executive Director, Child Care Answers
Get Involved
Advocacy Groups
Hoping to make a broader impact for children and families? These organizations work to remove barriers for children and families to support early care and education access across the state and county.
Indiana Early Learning Advisory Committee
ELAC works to ensure children birth to 8 years and their families have access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education programs that keep children healthy, safe and learning. Appointed by the Governor, ELAC offers guidance and input to the Governor’s Office and Indiana General Assembly. The general public is free to attend their meetings.
Early Education Works
Early Education Works is a nonpartisan, statewide coalition of state and local chambers, employers, academia, nonprofits, early care and education experts in Indiana. They advocate for the sustained progress for early childhood education across Indiana and are guided by a commitment to access, quality and affordability. Sign up on their website for alerts on how to best advocate in your community.
Indiana Institute for Working Families
The IIWF promotes public policies to help Hoosier families achieve financial well-being. Using data, they communicate the opportunities and challenges that Hoosiers experience to advance well-being by promoting evidence-based solutions and building coalitions to engage in direct and strategic conversations with policymakers and the public.
Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children
Indiana AEYC provides resources and information to follow public policy discussions, participate in calls to action, and to share your own voice alongside other Hoosier child care professionals.
Marion County Commission on Youth
MCCOY is an advocate, a resource, a capacity builder, and a convener, all to support youth opportunities and outcomes in central Indiana. Join their regular meetings to learn more about how you can help advance important social issues in Indiana.
In*SOURCE
In*SOURCE helps parents of children with disabilities navigate the complicated special education process in the state of Indiana by bridging the gap between schools and parents. Volunteer to work in your local community to provide support and info to other parents.
United Way of Central Indiana
UWCI advocates for the strategic implementation of incoming federal dollars to enhance the quality and accessibility of Indiana’s early childhood education system, leading to increased affordability, capacity and types of high-quality care to meet the needs of Indiana families.
Alliance for Early Success
The Alliance for Early Success is a national nonprofit that works with early childhood policy advocates at the state level to ensure that every child, birth through eight, has an equal opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed. Visit their website to sign up for advocacy resources and event invitations.
Early Learning Indiana
Early Learning Indiana provides leadership, advocacy and early childhood education services to continually improve the early learning landscape in Indiana.
Coalition for our Immigrant Neighbors
COIN is a coalition of service providers working together to facilitate and coordinate community efforts to provide legal, psychological, and other services for immigrant families in Central Indiana. They offer various ways to get involved including volunteering and attending their informative monthly meetings.
Immigrant Welcome Center
The IWC is a community organization dedicated to empowering Indy’s immigrants by connecting them to the people, places, and resources they need in order to thrive, empowering them to successfully adapt and integrate. Get involved by volunteering or attending their power calls on a topic that interests you.
Child Care Aware of America
CCAoA works with local agencies to advance the child care system. It leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, undertakes research, and advocates for child care policies to improve the lives of children and families.
National Association for the Education of Young Children
NAEYC is a national membership organization working to improve early childhood education through its scholarly journals, conferences, and advocacy.
Zero to Three
Zero to Three works to ensure that babies and toddlers benefit from the early connections that are critical to their well-being and development. Connect to learn how you can help advance this work.
Raising of America
The Raising of America documentary series explores the impact of social conditions, public polices, and inequities on our society. Partner to host a showing of the documentary or take action in other ways.
