Child Care Expansion Initiative: Ripple Effect Mapping: October 2013 Executive Summary

Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) sessions were conducted for the evaluation of the Childcare and Youth Training and Technical Assistance Project (CYTTAP) and in collaboration with the Military Child Care Liaison Initiative (MCCLI). The combined Child Care Expansion Initiative works to improve the quality and quantity of child care in states with high densities of off-installation military families through state systems building and provides professional development opportunities for early childhood professionals and child care providers. From September 2012 to February 2013, REM sessions were held in nine states. Future strategies recommended include identifying and bringing in the right Military Child Care Liaisons and State Extension contacts who understand and are well connected in each state, conducting environmental scans, connecting states with system-building experience with those states in the early stages of capacity building for mentoring, and creating a forum for sharing successes and strategies