Start here
Two questions, then a written answer with the next step and a person to reach. Every answer on this page was written for one kind of visitor, so nobody has to translate a general one into their own situation.
If you need to find child care
IdahoSTARS is Idaho’s child care resource and referral system. It keeps the list of programs in your area and the quality rating for each one. Once you have two or three names, walk through the Quality Child Care Checklist before you visit, so you are comparing the same things at every program.
If you need help paying for care
The Idaho Child Care Program, usually written ICCP, helps low-income working families cover a portion of child care costs. It is a state program, so eligibility and the application live with the state rather than with us. Family Resources explains what to gather before you apply and who to call if the answer is confusing.
If you need to get ready for kindergarten
READY! for Kindergarten is a workshop series for parents, on the premise that you are your child’s first and most influential teacher. It is practical rather than academic: what to expect at each age, and what to do about it at home. Sessions are scheduled locally, so check Events for the next one near you.
Next step
If you need support as a parent
A Parent Café is a guided small-group conversation with other parents. There is no cost and no curriculum to buy. Groups are capped at twenty-five people and each person registers individually, so sign up early when one is listed in your town.
If you need training or professional development hours
IdahoSTARS runs professional development across subjects for early care and education professionals, and it is where your hours are recorded. Idaho AEYC adds the convenings the catalog does not cover, including the annual Professional Development Institute.
If you need to earn a credential or degree
T.E.A.C.H. scholarships help child care professionals earn credentials and degrees without leaving the classroom. The scholarship is designed around people already working in early care, which is why the coursework is paced the way it is.
If you need to pursue NAEYC accreditation
NAEYC accreditation is the national mark of quality for early learning programs. It takes a program through self-study, documentation, and a visit. Idaho AEYC supports programs going through it, which mostly means knowing what the standards actually ask for before you write anything down.
If you need a job in early childhood
Idaho ECE Job Connections carries early childhood openings across Idaho, including Idaho AEYC’s own. Programs hiring in your area post there rather than scattering listings across job sites.
If you need to join a collaborative near me
An early learning collaborative is the local table where schools, providers, libraries, employers, and families plan together. Idaho AEYC supports twenty-six of them across the state. Find your region and you will see the collaborative, the towns it covers, and its planning documents where they exist.
Next step
If you need to start one where I live
The collaboratives that hold together begin with a local needs assessment and a written action plan rather than with a standing meeting. Kendrick-Juliaetta and Pocatello-Chubbuck both published theirs, and they are the clearest picture of what the first year looks like.
If you need to work with Idaho AEYC directly
Partnerships here usually start as a specific problem: a town with no infant care, an employer losing staff to child care gaps, a district worried about kindergarten readiness. Write to us with the version of that you are living, and we will connect you with the collaborative or the program that already works on it.
If you need Idaho numbers I can cite
The Idaho Needs Assessment Report is the statewide picture of what families and children need, and the 2024 Annual Report carries the year’s program and financial detail. Both are published documents you can quote directly rather than a summary of a summary.
If you need to see the work in my district
The collaboratives are organized by region and named for their towns, so you can point to the one in your district by name. Several publish their own strategic action plans, which show what local partners decided to do with what they had.
Next step
If you need a person to call
Sheralynn Bauder is Director of External Relations and is the right first call for legislative questions. Early Learning Day at the Capitol is the annual occasion when advocates and partners come to the Statehouse, and it is the easiest place to meet several collaboratives at once.
If you need to know what a gift pays for
Money given here funds family resources, provider training and scholarships, and the local collaboratives that put both to work in a specific town. The Give page breaks that down, and the 2024 Annual Report shows the audited version of the same story.
Next step
If you need to make a gift now
Online giving is the fastest route and handles one-time and recurring gifts. For a larger gift, a multi-year commitment, or a gift directed to a specific collaborative, it is worth a conversation first so the money lands where you intend.
Next step
If you need to fund a program as a foundation
The Idaho School Readiness Project Strategic Plan for 2025 through 2030 sets out what this organization committed to before anyone asked for money, which makes it the honest starting point for a funder. Read it, then tell us which part you want to underwrite.
If none of that fit
The search box at the top of every page covers each program, collaborative, event, published report, and staff listing on this site. A question typed into it gets an answer with the sources under it.
