Project Open House Overview
There is an urgent need to increase access to and improve the quality of inclusive childcare for young children with disabilities in Ohio. Through a state-wide and local/regional systems change approach, Project Open House (POH) will address these concerns to produce lasting improvements in how high-quality childcare is provided to young children with disabilities and their families. Project Open House is funded by the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council Under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act.
Part I
POH will conduct a series of focus groups administered at strategic locations across the state of Ohio to gather data from family members, childcare providers and administrators about the challenges they face related to inclusive childcare. Using the data from these focus groups, POH staff will create and administer surveys designed to gauge broader input from stakeholders at the local and regional levels. POH staff will also contact other inclusive childcare initiatives across the country to learn about successful strategies in supporting inclusive childcare.
Part II
POH will work with a state-level task force comprised of representatives from the Early Childhood Advisory Council to institute effective state-level policy changes to support inclusive childcare at the local levels.
Part III
POH will fund a pilot program in NW Ohio that seeks to provide support for inclusive childcare at the local/regional level through YW Child Care Connections, NW Ohio’s CCR&R. Our goal with this pilot program is to work with key community stakeholders to identify ways that they can address issues and improve inclusive childcare without relying on time-limited grant dollars.
Part IV
POH will use the lessons learned from administering the pilot program to administer a mini-grant competition (using POH funds as seed money) to other CCR&R agencies across Ohio to develop mechanisms to support high-quality inclusive childcare that will benefit families of children with disabilities as well as the childcare professionals who work with them. In addition to “seed money”, grantees will also receive extensive technical assistance from POH staff for the length of the project.