Champions for Children

Champions for Children dates to 2000, when the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the nonprofit agency Child Care Resources and with the support of the Boeing Company, launched the accreditation project to improve the quality of early care and education for children from birth to age 5. The project also focuses on out-of-school-time programs. Champions for Children is an "action team" within a larger community collaborative effort, SOAR--Helping Kids Reach for the Sky, which aims to ensure that all children in King County and the city of Seattle are prepared for success in school and in life. Champions for Children seeks to increase the number of nationally accredited child care and out-of-school-time programs and provides leadership development for program directors. Programs receive financial and technical assistance to help them become accredited. From the business perspective, focusing on early learning and out-ofschool-time programs is an economic development issue tied to developing a skilled workforce.

The goal of this program is to improve the quality of child care and education in Seattle.

Champions for Children is working with 42 programs to support their accreditation efforts. Five centers have become accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) through the project as of July 2004. The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce also works with its business members to encourage them to adopt work/familyfriendly policies. It hosts a committee, Business Strategies to Support Early Learning and Care, that is focused on child care and health care issues for young children.