Kentucky child care professionals find value and savings in free resource site KYSharedServices.org


Since re-launching in February, approximately 1,632 local educators and child care directors have received access to KYSharedServices.org, a website by CCA For Social Good and Community Coordinated Child Care (4-C) and sponsored by the Kosair Charities Face It Movement. It delivers practical resources, including information on child abuse prevention, for early childhood education directors, family care providers, and teachers.

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These numbers are a significant increase from the website’s initial reach of 5,580 children as the site has now reached over 8,160 children. The innovative website is preparing for its audience to expand even further by adding more resources and offerings during this back to school season.

“This early childhood knowledge hub is a virtual one-stop shop that contains every tool and resource a child care professional needs to provide high quality care,” stated Janet Masterson, executive director of Community Coordinated Child Care.

The website is designed to save child care professionals time, reduce costs, and improve quality. The site also acts as a clearinghouse for relevant information on topics such as food and nutrition, how to recognize and report child abuse, and federal regulations related to licensing. Features include an employee orientation toolkit, training materials on developmental milestones designed to assist in early detection and intervention, and updated information on the Infant Sleep Policy.

As one director explained it, the constantly updated KYSharedServices.org website is a tool that ensures she doesn’t have to waste time searching through page after page on internet search engines whenever she is faced with a new issue or is seeking an answer to a specific question.

Alissa Mwenelupembe, a local director, stated, “I think it’s important for directors to have access to templates and tools that can help streamline our jobs. There is rarely a need to ‘recreate the wheel’ in this business. Someone, somewhere is using a tool that you need. Kentucky Shared Services is a great resource for some of those pieces of information that if you spent time creating them from scratch could eat up your whole day.”

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Kim Williams, another local director, put it this way: “Kentucky Shared Services has been a valuable asset to my program. I have used parent education materials from the site to engage my families, and have found useful information for many aspects of my program, from licensing information to regulations and postings for my facility. I am so very glad to have these resources in my arsenal.”

Through 4-C’s partnership with the Face It Movement, all licensed child care providers in Jefferson County receive an annual subscription free of charge. Over 1,600 local educators and directors already benefit from KYSharedServices.org, and this year the reach will be much further.

The site not only provides tools for educators but also on how providers can recognize and prevent child abuse while in turn educating parents as well. The Face It Movement helps to provide these resources as part of their mission of ending abuse in Kentucky and Southern Indiana by 2023.

The site can be viewed by visiting KYSharedServices.org. Interested parties in Kentucky can receive access to the resources by filling out a New Member Request form.

For more information about KYSharedServices.org, please contact Robin Schotter at (502) 618-5669.

For more information about the Face It Movement please contact Erin Jones at (502) 774-0767.

From Community Coordinated Child Care (4-C)


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