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Administration for Children and Families
Dear Tribal CCDF Administrator: On behalf of the Child Care Bureau (CCB) in the Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), I am pleased to invite you to our National American Indian and Alaska Native Child Care Conference, Tribal Child Care: Recognizing Our History, Honoring Our Achievements, Preparing Our Future. The conference will be held May 12-13, 2010 at the This year's conference marks 20 years since the passage of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, which provided the first direct funding to Tribes for child care services. We look forward to celebrating this important milestone with you by reflecting on your successes over the past 20 years and looking to the future to expand high quality child care services for tribal children and families. We know that over the years many committed professionals have contributed to the success of the tribal programs. To honor those individuals, a Recognition of Service will be held to acknowledge those with 10, 15 and 20 years of service. We are planning a full agenda of engaging and interactive workshops with a focus on the Child Care Bureau's 2010 agenda; Pathways and Partnerships for Child Care Excellence. Our goals for 2010 focus on supporting improved tribal health and safety and licensing standards, and on supporting the health and wellness of children including mental health, and social and emotional development, as well as nutrition and physical activity. Grantees will have an opportunity to schedule technical assistance discussions with Federal Staff from the Regional and Central offices and the Child Care Technical Assistance Network partners during networking breaks. Nearly 200 organizations, including vendors of early childhood educational products, are being invited to display and distribute materials in this year's Resource Area, promising to make it the largest Resource Display in the 16 years that the Child Care Bureau has hosted this conference. Other highlights of the week will include the Cultural Reception, being planned in conjunction with the National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA), and the Tribal Child Care Showcase, where you will be able to set up a tabletop display to share pictures, curricula, training materials, maps, and cultural items from your program with the conference attendees. I am looking forward to seeing how all of the programs have developed over the past 20 years. I am excited about the training and networking opportunities we are developing for this year's conference. I hope that you will join us in Sincerely, Shannon L. Rudisill Associate Director Child Care Bureau Office of Family Assistance |
