Child Care Aware of America is at a critical inflection point where we seek to strategically position the organization in the wake of multiple social, economic and health crises that upended the lives of children and families across the country.
CCAoA is a learning organization. We engaged in a transformative strategic planning process, leading the field forward and continuing to center diversity, equity and inclusion in our work. The goal was to both expand CCAoA’s ability to advance our mission and deepen our commitment to focus on the lived experience of families struggling to access high-quality, affordable and accessible child care.
Throughout the process, it was critical to authentically connect with and enlist families, the child care workforce, partners, CCAoA members, the military, our Board of Directors and CCAoA staff while ensuring cohesion and strategic alignment with our direction.
Strategic Initiatives
Over the course of 10 months, CCAoA developed the 2023-2025 strategic plan, which includes four strategic priorities:
- Strategic Initiative 1 – Demanding Quality
- CCAoA will advance policies that demand quality child care for all.
- Strategic Initiative 2 – Building Systems
- CCAoA will influence and architect the national infrastructure that delivers quality, affordable child care.
- Strategic Initiative 3 – Transforming the Field
- CCAoA will deliver innovative thought leadership that transforms the field of child care.
- Strategic Initiative 4 – Strengthening our Organization
- CCAoA will strengthen human capital and organizational excellence.
Strategic Planning Resources
Parent Listening Team Report
To ensure our focus on parent voice, CCAoA convened a Parent Listening Team. These parent leaders represented the diverse spectrum of families across the nation while prioritizing the voices of those that faced the greatest personal barriers to accessing affordable, quality child care in their communities. They surveyed and interviewed over 500 parents/caregivers, focusing on this question: “What are the greatest barriers to quality child care for those who have been historically marginalized and systematically denied access to it?” As a result of their work, the team provided a recommendations report that will be central to our push for quality child care in the years to come. In addition, the team will continue to offer their input over the course of the plan.
The best way to get a sense of the dedication of the Parent Listening Team and what the work they did meant to them is to listen to them describe the process in their own words.
Additional Resources
2022 Annual Report
