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Outreach Strategies

The Tompkins County Early Education Partnership has begun outreach to parents and employers regarding existing funding sources for child care. While the Partnership's mission is to create a community fund to serve all Tompkins County families, the Partnership recognizes that full utilization of existing resources is critical to the success of any new efforts.

General Information

Parent Outreach Materials

Parent materials were test-marketed at Cabin Fever, an annual event sponsored by the Day Care and Child Development Council of Tompkins County that attracts thousands of young children and their parents. These materials describe Flexible Spending Accounts, emergency scholarships through the Day Care Council, Department of Social Service subsidies, state and federal tax credits, Cornell's child care program for employees, and the Earned Income Tax Credit. In order to satisfy different information needs, multiple documents describe each major program or funding source for child care in Tompkins County. For instance, materials describing Department of Social Service subsidies include a fact sheet for parents, a Frequently Asked Questions resource for employers, and a flier designed to post at employment sites.

Employer Outreach Materials

These materials were test marketed at a meeting of the Tompkins County Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM) in April 2002. Though most public funds available for financing child care rely on parents' initiative, there are some programs such as Flexible Spending Accounts for which employer buy-in is critical. In addition, since employers have regular contact with parents using child care, an involved employer can provide an important information outlet. These materials are designed to convince employers of child care's benefits to them and to the business community in general, and to help employers understand what they can do.