Our Services
For over twenty years, FOCAL
has provided services to child care providers throughout Alabama. Our
main activities continue to be advocacy, technical assistance and
training.
ADVOCACY
FOCAL's advocacy efforts are
designed to improve the quality of child care and to build the
leadership of parents and child care providers in low-income
communities.
FOCAL also plays a vital
role in maintaining the flow of information and communication between
the legislative system and child care providers. FOCAL's goals include:
-
revitalizing programs that
are caring for the children of poor families in Alabama;
-
creating and affecting
public policy that determines the quality and quantity of care and
development afforded poor children in Alabama; and
-
enabling leaders and
potential leaders to enhance their skills and knowledge, and to unite
towards the goals of supporting and accelerating the development of
poor and minority community in Alabama.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Throughout its history,
FOCAL has provided a variety of technical assistance services
to child care providers in Alabama, often when it has been
unavailable elsewhere. We have been called upon as a resource to
both established child care providers and individuals wishing to
start a child care program of their own. FOCAL provides assistance
ranging from staff development work - to the design and
implementation of effective operational systems and procedures; -
from compliance to regulatory agencies - to enhancing community
involvement. FOCAL also serves as a referral service for child care
providers who confront problems requiring specialized expertise.
TRAINING
FOCAL offers training to
child care providers in a variety of forums, all of which have been
designed as Leadership Development opportunities. The most popular of
FOCAL's training programs are its Quarterly Meetings. These one-day
training conferences offer opportunities for providers to come together
and share concerns, experiences, observations and ideas. Participants
may attend a variety of training workshops ranging from early childhood
development to community development.
The Fall Quarterly
Meeting takes its shape as FOCAL's Annual Meeting and Training
Conference, a two-day event which offers participants an impressive
variety of training and networking opportunities. |
