CACFP Inspire: PATCH
September 28, 2022
People Attentive to Children Hawaii, PATCH, has a straightforward mission: to support and improve the quality and availability of care for the young people of Hawaii. In fact, this mission is stated so plainly that it could be misunderstood as easy when it is simply direct.
One organization, many solutions
So how do they support and improve the quality and availability of care for young people in Hawaii? PATCH helps families and caregivers in Hawaii with child care information and resources that they can trust. Their list of services is extensive, but includes the following:
- Resource and referrals for families to find the best child care for them and assistance paying for it
- Respite care for Navy families
- Child care provider recruitment programs, including training
- Administration of a subsidy program to help lower-income families afford school for pre-kindergarten children
- Registry for qualified child care providers
- Scholarships for ECE-related college credit for child care providers
- Extensive provider training
- CACFP sponsorship
In addition to all of this, PATCH collects and publishes data on the state of child care in Hawaii and provides it to government agencies, research organizations and more. PATCH actively supports research and development of services that increase the number and quantity of caregivers in Hawaii. This research translates into better services, and higher quality care for the community PATCH serves.
PATCH and the CACFP
When it comes to the CACFP specifically, PATCH is a supportive sponsor that responds to the needs of its sites. In 2021, PATCH was a sponsor for 169 child care homes, and provided child nutrition training and support for hundreds of early childhood professionals.
In fact, PATCH had the foresight to see the need of incorporating technology into the CACFP reimbursement and management process for the sites they sponsor. But change can be difficult, especially when it comes to technology across so many programs and locations, so implementing this new technology was a big shift. Allowing technology to be actively used in the management of CACFP data is huge in today's fast-paced world. Making this option available to Hawaii providers reduces barriers to CACFP participation, aligning with their mission of supporting and improving quality care.
PATCH’s multi-faceted work, high-volume of care and dedication to community are exemplary. We are proud to count them among the CACFP community.