Why Focus on Tribal Communities?
“If invisibility is part of the problem, representation will need to be in the solution. You cannot meet the needs that you do not see.”
— — Govinda Budrow
Tribal Communities are experiencing a significant child care supply crisis.
86% of Tribal child care subsidy administrators surveyed in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota said that there are not enough licensed child care slots to meet the demand in their communities. [1]
Tribal Child Care Leaders Juggle Multiple Roles with Less External Support.
FCF recently concluded support for Tribal CCDF administrators in their ARPA implementation and learned that most lack external sources of culturally appropriate TA. Yet, Tribal CCDF administrators are juggling multiple, complex roles:
- 80% were responsible for hiring early childhood direct service staff
- 80% were responsible for the evaluation and reporting of other federally funded programs
- 70% were responsible for writing child care quality standards for the Tribe
Opportunity for Innovation. Federal funding flexibilities and the direct connection between some Tribal governments and their child care programs creates unique opportunities for custom child care solutions to meet local needs.
[1] FCFN Tribal CCDF Survey, 5/2020
Previous Collaboratory Cohorts
In 2024, FCF successfully assembled Collaboratory teams representing 10 Tribes for the Collaboratory Convening in Minneapolis. During the event, teams had the opportunity to learn, build strong connections, and collaborate to identify potential funding sources for their child care systems.
FCF has also facilitated three successful cohorts in the ECE Business Collaboratory, bringing together teams from 14 states. The ECE Business Collaboratory provides learning and convening opportunities, investment, and technical assistance (TA) as state and Tribal teams address local child care business issues, share best practices and ideas with their counterparts across the country, and implement effective, locally tailored strategies for a sustainable child care system.
The Collaboratory teams comprised public officials, nonprofits, employers, funders, and child care operators, and were selected through a competitive application process. Recently, all 14 teams came together for the first in-person convening in September 2022, and FCF received tremendously positive feedback from the states about the opportunity to gather in person to learn, share, and innovate.