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Community Advocates Publications

Since this list is compiled from a broad range of resources, there are various methods for obtaining these publications. Some can be downloaded either directly from this site or from linked sites, while others have order forms attached to them, or links to order forms. You can print these forms and send them to the addresses noted.

This section of publications includes resources to help technical assistance providers, child advocates, grant-makers and lenders address facilities development and financing issues in their communities.

Strategies for Increasing Child Care Facilities Development and Financing: This report identifies seven sets of strategies for local and statewide policymakers and the child care industry itself to address persistent barriers to child care facilities development and financing.

Full length report

Executive summary

A

A Toolkit for Organizing a Local Facilities Development and Financing Network in Your Community: This toolkit is intended to assist child care advocates and others in planning, hosting, and sustaining a local network of key individuals for the purpose of surmounting the barriers encountered by child care providers in the development and financing of facilities that serve children and their families and builds on BCC's experience bringing together these groups.
A Child Care Advocacy Guide to Land Use Principles: Provides information about how to limit the extent to which local land use policies work to limit the supply of child care.
A Citizen's Guide to Planning: provides information on the process and system of land use planning as it is practiced in California. Its purpose is to explain, in general terms, how local communities regulate land use and to define some commonly used planning terms. The booklet covers the following topics: State Law and Local Planning,The General Plan, Zoning, Subdivisions, Other Ordinances and Regulations, Annexation and Incorporation, The California Environmental Quality Act, A Glossary of Planning Terms.
A Guide to Homeownership for Family Child Care Providers: A BCC publication about becoming a homeowner and investigating specific loan and assistance programs that can help in the process. Available in Chinese and Spanish.
A Planning Guide - Linking Child Care to Economic Development: This document explains the strategies and techniques of the Local Investment in Child Care (LINCC) project, which combines child care knowledge with economic development strategies to expand and improve the child care industry in California. The guide focuses specifically on means to reduce barriers to the development of child care facilities and businesses.

B

BCC Referral List of Architects with Child Care Facilities Development Experience in California: Includes information about years of experience, number and types of projects completed, and geographical focus of the architect and/or firm. (2008)
Building for the Future - A Guide to Facilities Loan Funds for Community-Based Child and Family Services: A guide for policymakers, funders, program directors, and opinion leaders trying to expand and strengthen the system of supports and services for children and families. It provides information, based on a growing experience from around the country, upon which to assess the feasibility and potential impact a specialized lending program might have on addressing the capital needs of those who deliver supports and services to children and families
Business Side of Child Care Manual: Designed for Technical Assistance providers and Lenders who want to help child care providers get started and expand.

C

Insight Center's Webinar, February, 2009: Creating Spaces for Children: The importance of High Quality ECE Facilities
2011 California Child Care Portfolio: The 2011 California Child Care Portfolio presents a compilation of California statewide and county-by-county statistics on child care. The bi-annual Portfolio includes a comprehensive California statewide report in both narrative and graphic format highlighting child care supply, demand, and cost issues in the context of current policy, demographic and labor force trends.
California Resources and Training (CARAT) Community Partners: List of and contact information for CARAT's Community Partners, who work to encourage and stimulate partnerships between lending institutions and technical assistance providers.
Child Care Development and Financing: Barriers and Recommendations (A Report to the Legislature): Report submitted by the Building Child Care (BCC) Collaborative Partners in December, 2001 detailing the main barriers to child care center and family child care home facilities development efforts in California, along with recommendations for overcoming these barriers.

Executive Summary

Full Length Report
Child Care Center Facility Development Checklists: A general guideline for understanding the steps involved in the process of financing and developing child care center facilities in California. Available in Spanish.
Child Care Center Financial Planning and Facilities Development Manual: A revised and expanded version of the Insight Center Maneuvering the Maze materials. This Manual includes four detailed chapters designed to help child care center directors and owners manage the financial side of their businesses and plan for a facility development project including expanding, renovating, building or purchasing a center. Available in Spanish.
- Chapter 1: Budgeting and Basic Financial Statements
- Chapter 2: Developing Pro Formas and Determining Debt Capacity
- Chapter 3: Developing a Child Care Business Plan
- Chapter 4: The Facilities Development Process
Congregations Caring for Children In Your Neighborhood and Beyond - A Resource Guide for Potential Child Care Providers: Step-by-step guide for Congregations interested in incorporating child care into their facilities.
Considerations for Child Care Providers Partnering with Housing Developers in California: Offers guidelines on how to work on child care projects within housing developments. It includes an example memorandum of understanding (MOU), lease, and timeline.
Court Mandates, Free Markets and the Lottery: An Exploration of Facilities Development in States with Expanded Preschool: This report written by Insight Center for Community Economic Development staff Saskia Traill and Tarecq Amer was prepared for the Low Income Investment Fund. The project was designed to capture the experiences of six other states which have implemented expanded preschool programs so their experiences can improve California’s facilities development efforts. The research in the report is based largely on interviews with key stakeholders from each state.
Credit Evaluation Grids for Microlenders - A Tool for Enhancing Scale and Efficiency: This publication details the use of credit evaluation grids, a tool that can dramatically streamline and standardize the process of underwriting microenterprise loans. Developed by ACCION USA with funding from FIELD, the grids were designed to create greater efficiencies in the lending process.

D

Directory of Local City and County Planning Departments in California: Search this directory to find contact information for your local city and/or county planners from whom you can learn more about general plans, zoning regulations, and land use policies that affect child care developments.
Directory of Small Business Technical Assistance Providers in California (May 1999). Publication from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, provides a detailed account of what types of services and resources each Small Business TA provider offers to California clients.

E

Enterprise Community Partners: The Enterprise Resource Database includes resources about increasing the supply and improving the quality and affordability of child care in low-income neighborhoods.
Enterprise Foundation: Understanding Child Care Supply and Demand: Workbook and spreadsheet to help community-based organizations understand the child care needs of parents and children, and the child care resources of a specific community—in other words, to measure the demand for and supply of child care.
Environmental Health Conditions in California's Portable Classrooms: Presented by the California Air Resources Board, this publication is directed at Public Schools but is also very useful for anyone developing child care programs in modular/portable facilities.

F

Family Child Care Financial Planning and Facilities Development Manual An expanded version of the Insight Center Maneuvering the Maze materials, specifically for family child care providers. This Manual includes five detailed chapters designed to help family child care providers business owners manage the financial side of their businesses and plan for a facility development project including expanding, renovating, building or purchasing a family child care home. Available in Spanish and Chinese.
- Chapter 1: Budgeting
- Chapter 2: Basic Financial Statements
- Chapter 3: Understanding Loans and Developing Pro Formas and Determining Debt Capacity
- Chapter 4: Developing a Family Child Care Business Plan
- Chapter 5: Renovating or Expanding a Family Child Care Home
FIELD Best Practice Guides for Training Microentrepreneurs: These guides provide useful information for technical assistance providers who work with microentrepreneurs like existing or prospective child care providers.
Financing Child Care in the United States: An Expanded Catalog of Current Strategies (2001 Edition): Catalog developed to share information on innovative financing strategies that are successfully funding child care in the United States.
Financing Early Care and Education: A Primer for County Leaders (NACO, 2003) Provides an overview of early care and education finance from the perspective of local elected officials, and offers cost-effective ways counties can be involved.
Finding A Child Care Center Site: In addition to providing some guidance on how to work with real estate professionals, this document by the Low Income Investment Fund includes a list of useful local resources and websites that can assist in your search.
FirstSource ProFile Directory of Architecture Firms. (Search the database for firms with Child Care Facilities Development Experience)

G

General Plan Guidelines (for the State of California): This is a guide for local planners in preparing general plans and also for other local government officials and community members who may have less familiarity with planning theory, practice and land use law. The 2003 Guidelines, to be revised in 2013, present a foundation upon which planning agencies can prepare their general plans to meet state legal requirements.
Glossary of Common Planning Terms: Provided through the Governor's Office of Planning and Research.
Glossary of Loan Terms for Facilities Develpment Financing: Definitions of terms used in the lending and facility development fields as they relate to child care projects. Available in Spanish.
Grant Proposal Writing - Short Course, Parts 1 and 2: Foundation Center Online resource to help nonprofits understand the process of writing and editing grant proposals.

I

Improving Microenterprise Training and Technical Assistance - Findings for Program Managers: Describes the makings of effective training and technical assistance by examining the findings from research projects undertaken by five FIELD grantees. Provides a synthesis of key research findings and includes the executive summary of the research report written by each grantee.

L

Linking Child Care Development and Housing Development: Tools for Child Care Providers and Advocates: Explores what child care providers and advocates can gain from partnerships with housing developers and housing advocates. Also provides examples of policy collaborations and development partnerships that child care providers and advocates can pursue.

M

Making Room for Children: Incorporating Family Child Care Homes into Multi-Family Affordable Housing Developments
Making Space for Children - A Toolkit for Starting a Child Care Facilities Fund: Designed for policymakers, nonprofit leaders, foundation executives, business leaders, advocates, child care providers, and others interested in increasing access to high-quality child care for working families through the development of a child care facilities fund.
Loan Resources for Child Care Facilities Development in California (rev. 2009): Designed to help child care providers and child care advocates identify and access financial assistance to build, purchase, expand and/or renovate child care centers and family child care homes in California.
Microenterprise as a Welfare to Work Strategy; One-Year Findings: This report presents findings regarding the outcomes experienced by TANF recipients one year after participating in microenterprise assistance programs. 19% of the businesses tracked in this study are child care programs.

P

Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE): Resources and Publications related to child care issues in California
Preparing Child Care Borrowers for Underwriting: LIIF has designed this checklist to help individuals and organizations seeking child care capital financing understand the type of documentation lenders need to determine the viability of a potential borrower.

R

Resource Guide: Financing Child Care Facilities Development in California: Offers child care providers and advocates a sampling of financial resources available for center and home-based facilities development needs. Also includes technical assistance resources, background information on types of lenders, loan programs, and tips for maneuvering through the loan application process.

S

2011 California Child Care Portfolio: The 2011 California Child Care Portfolio presents a compilation of California statewide and county-by-county statistics on child care. The Portfolio includes a comprehensive California statewide report in both narrative and graphic format highlighting child care supply, demand, and cost issues in the context of current policy, demographic and labor force trends.
Starting a Child Care Center: USDA Rural Information Center. Online guide for rural communities though much information will be useful to others.

T

The Benefits of Using Loans to Meet Child Care Facilities Development Costs: Provides explanations of the advantages to using loans for child care facilities development projects.
The California Preschool Planning Toolkit: This Toolkit is a collaboration of the work conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Karen Hill Scott and Company (KHS) on County Preschool Master Plans and state-level resources. This toolkit provides a number of resources for those who are designing or implementing a comprehensive preschool system, including curriculum, workforce, facilities and finance. This toolkit consists of eight sections, one of which is devoted entirely to planning for preschool facilities.
The Conditional Use Permit: this document's primary purpose is to provide both a reference for experienced planners and training materials for new planners, planning commissioners, and zoning board members.
Tribal Child Care Facilities - Use of CCDF Funds for Construction and Renovation: Section of US HHS/ACF guide on use of Tribal CCDF funds for facilities.

U

Using the Community Reinvestment Act to Help Finance Initiatives for Children, Families, and Communities: Outlines several types of activities for which lenders may receive CRA credit and identifies important considerations for communities seeking to access CRA resources for community development initiatives, including specific examples in the child care field.

W

What to Consider Before Purchasing a Child Care Center: The intent of this document is to provide a potential buyer with a list of considerations to keep in mind before purchasing an existing child care center business, facility and land.
What Does a Lender Look For? The 5 C's of Lending: Provides an overview of the main criteria on which loan applications are judged for facilities development projects.
When Housing and Child Care Meet - Lessons Learned from Seven Child Care and Community Development Partnerships: The Enterprise Foundation identifies the challenges, opportunities and successes of programs that brought together the community development and child care industries to improve the quality of child care for low-income children. The book provides templates and resources for the benefit of others who might wish to pursue similar programs.