Essex County Child Care Agencies Team up to Create Alliance

Clinton Hill Community and Early Childhood Center, Inc., La Casa de Don Pedro (two centers), Zadie’s of the Oranges, The Urban League of Essex County Early Childhood Center (two centers), Newark Day Care Center, Ironbound Community Corporation, and Unified Vailsburg Services Organization (two centers) are participating in the Greater Newark Shared Services Alliance.

Launched by Programs for Parents and funded by The Nicholson Foundation and Turrell Fund, the Greater Newark Shared Services Alliance serves as a pilot program and is a framework that allows multiple early care and education centers to pool needs and share resources – including staff, information, skills and funds – in order to improve the capacity to provide high quality care.

“Shared Services creates a new pathway for the future of Early Childhood Programs. Programs for Parents is pleased to lead the way for Essex County,” said Beverly Lynn, Programs for Parents CEO.

The Alliance members were selected from close to 20 applicants and took part in individual interviews. Their leadership practices, budget and finance structures, teacher and child support systems, family engagement activities offered, and collaborative opportunities were all taken into account during the selection process. The centers also had to meet one of the following eligibility requirements in order to apply: Being nationally accredited, receiving public pre-k funding as Head Start or Head Start collaborative center or involved in the Grow NJ Kids Initiative.

Acting collectively, the Alliance members will improve organizational efficiency and, in turn, increase the quality of the child care provided. They will cultivate a substitute pool of teachers and teacher assistants to support the centers, develop a comprehensive and progressive professional development model for teachers, teachers’ assistants and administrative staff, identify and investigate additional collaborative cost saving opportunities, develop a business model that will allow future sustainability, and more.

“The Nicholson Foundation is extremely proud to help bring the Shared Service Alliance to families in Newark,” said Kay Hendon, Senior Early Childhood Program Officer of The Nicholson Foundation. “Shared service models help providers deliver early childhood care and education in a more streamlined and efficient way, ensuring that resources are reallocated to where they can most directly improve outcomes for children.”