Child Development Resources has a service that provides free information to parents and the community about the availability of child care in Ventura County
Resource & Referral Services
The following services are available.
- Licensing assistance for potential child care providers
- Direct services, including bilingual workshops and training
- Community resources for parents and local child care providers
- Information hotlines
- And lots more!
Nita Navarro, Child Care Services Supervisor for Resource & Referral, provides insight to the resources available to help families and child care providers thrive.
The Value of Resource & Referral Services
How does Resource & Referral help shape the success of child care providers and families?
Our goal is for providers to succeed and to continue with their professional growth. For families, we want to provide them with any kind of referrals they might need and hopefully getting them enrolled in our programs so they can get subsidized (at reduced cost) services.
Are Resource & Referral services available to anyone even if they’re not directly enrolled with Child Development Resources?
Yes. When it comes to referrals, that’s available to anyone residing in Ventura County, regardless of whether they are enrolled with Child Development Resources. While some of our workshops are only exclusively offered to providers enrolled in our own program, we occasionally open certain sessions to providers outside of our network as well.
Which resources are the most popular and widely used?
The referrals. It’s constant. Because it’s open to anybody, we get inquiries from people that are not receiving any services, families that are in Head Start looking for child care providers…it’s a mix of people looking for various assistance. Our second most popular is our wait list for subsidized families (families seeking financial assistance).
Has the scope of Resource & Referral services changed over the years?
There’s a mixture of the two. Resource & Referral continues to be consistent with its services, classes and workshops. This includes referrals, subsidized child care, CPR classes, and Preventive Health and Safety training courses. Then we have what we call nuggets of short-term funding where we’re able to collaborate with outside agencies on different projects. Some of these projects involve training and stipends for providers such as our partnership with Women’s Economic Ventures, or with Amigo Baby, and others. Child Development Resources is always searching for collaborative funding opportunities in Ventura County. We have a lot of different initiatives that come and go, but we have our staple and consistent ones.
Resource & Referral Hotline
To speak to a staff member about CDR’s Centralized Eligibility Waitlist for child care services, call (805) 485-7878 x1511.
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