It has been a pretty cool assignment to spend multiple weeks combing over the website of the International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), especially alongside my expanding understanding of current issues and trends in the field of early childhood.
The ICRI website has hardly any links to outside sites. There were a couple links to outside fundraising sites on their blog, but even most of their fundraising is done internally. They also do not have any kind of resources page linking to outside sites.
The area I chose to explore thoroughly was the page explaining the ICRI's consultation services. They offer needs assessments, program and facility design services, cutting edge curriculum, branding services, and even offer to raise net income of centers by 20%. They consult for child care centers, large corporations, non profits, and international leaders. Past projects have included work for the WHO, IBM, the University of Nairobi, and the education ministry of Croatia. Consulting is an interesting business, and the breadth of the work that the ICRI does for such a wide range of organizations was really interesting.
The ICRI in the United States is based out of San Francisco and has come awesome projects in motion focusing on equity and access in disadvantaged communities. They've have opened a devoted Spanish/English preschool in addition to their two English schools in the area. They also have a physical development and mobility projected called Project Commotion that has a dedicated staff to provide special education support and advocacy. Perhaps most interesting to me, their Family Daycare Support Network program reimburses home childcare providers in the area for the expenses related to preparing and serving meals that meet the appropriate nutrition standards.
International Child Resource Institute (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.icrichild.org/ourvision/
Now that's something you don't hear much about...companies that invest in home daycares. ICRI's uniquely positioned in California where home child care programs seem to thrive. What a great partnership! I also see you mention how ICRI has opened its own child care program with attention to dual language learner. I like the progressive and intentional face of this organization.
ReplyDeleteI found your post very informative and I learned a lot from it. I did find myself with a couple of questions. Does this organization specify how they can raise the net income by 20%? I this something that they actually provide funds for, or are they saying that if their consulting services are used correctly, that a business can see up to 20% increase in net income?
ReplyDeleteWe also have the CACFP (child and adult care food program) that reimburses licensed day care centers, schools, and nursing home/adult day care programs for serving food based on the requirements set forth by the USDA and their program. I had thought that the CACFP was a federal program, but maybe it is not. Do you know if California has access to the CACFP, or does ICIR provide the only program of this type?
I was surprised as well to see a company give back to the home daycare providers.What a wonderful way to reduce the expense for smaller facilities and ensure quality nutritious foods for all children
ReplyDeleteShanon