As the first child care resource and referral agency in North Carolina, the Durham Day Care Council (DDCC) created and developed successful community programs such as on-site technical assistance, training opportunities, and a child care referral service.
The Council was a founding member of the National Association of Child Care
Resource and Referral Agencies.

Meanwhile, Day Care Services Association (DCSA) was focused on linking child care
scholarships for low income families to quality indicators and operating a meal delivery service for child care centers and homes. In addition to its direct services, DCSA collaborated with other organizations to conduct the first of many county and statewide early childhood workforce studies. The groundwork DCSA laid provided baseline data for assessing early childhood issues in North Carolina and led to the development of several innovative and effective quality improvement initiatives.

The first of these initiatives was the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Project, a scholarship
program for early childhood professionals. The project began in the Triangle area and went statewide in 1993. T.E.A.C.H. licensed its first program outside of North Carolina in 1995, and now supports licenses in 21 other states. CCSA also created and maintains the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® National Technical Assistance Center.

Following the success of T.E.A.C.H., DCSA also created the Child Care WAGE$® Project, which provides salary supplements linked to progress in educational advancement and remaining employed in the child care field. WAGE$® operates statewide in North Carolina with additional programs in Florida, Kansas and Oklahoma.

The Durham Day Care Council, also working on innovative early care and education initiatives, received national attention in 1997 when it partnered with Duke University to launch the nation’s first interactive child care web site. This unique effort helped Durham families search for care online and served as the model for a national child care referral software program.

During the same time period, Orange County’s resource and referral program merged with Day Care Services Association, allowing the growing non-profit organization to offer a full range of advocacy, referral and professional development services.

In 1999, after much success on parallel tracks, but recognizing the need for coordinated and consolidated efforts, the two organizations, the Durham Day Care Council and Day Care Services Association joined forces to become Child Care Services Association.
The six years since merger have shown unprecedented growth and improved service delivery.

New programs and services have included bilingual (Spanish/English) counselors, and a
partnership with Duke University to increase the availability and quality of infant-toddler spaces in child care programs.

The organization has built on its foundation of solid research in early care and education as well. CCSA completed a third statewide workforce study in 2003, citing improvements in education, compensation and retention.

In 2004, CCSA became the administrator for the statewide Infant-Toddler Enhancement Project and expanded to include an office in Raleigh. This new facility helps fill the need for resource and referral services to parents and families in the growing Wake County area. CCSA also conducted a comprehensive, qualitative examination of the early care and education system in North Carolina, a study of the supply and demand for infant-toddler care, and a statewide study of child maltreatment in child care facilities.

Just recently, CCSA took on a new task to support early care and education and began a campaign to build a Child Care Resource Center in Durham County. The Center will house key programs of CCSA and partner agencies, and be a hub for collaborative projects, resources and services to the Durham and Triangle communities. The 27,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will also include a kitchen facility capable of serving more than one million nutritious meals each year to children in Wake, Durham and Orange counties.

Fulfilling a commitment to ensure accessible, affordable high quality care for all children and families has been the driving force behind the pursuits of Child Care Services Association for more than three decades - but there is still much work to do. The present situation of child care and the coming future continue to offer new challenges. CCSA will strive to maintain its progress toward creating more opportunities for families and the best possible care for children.