Being a parent should not preclude one from opportunities for educational and economic advancement, and below are resources for navigating the legal, economic, and logistical complexities of parenting a young child.  Additionally, resources for helping your child reach her full potential are also provided.

National Women’s Law Center: Access to Education for Pregnant and Parenting Students

Education is one key to economic success, and under Title IX, pregnant and parenting students have a right to the same education and extracurricular activities as their peers. This excellent site explains and navigates these rights for students as well as schools with multiple resources presented in multiple media.

National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies: Child Care Aware

Although the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRA) has a plethora of information on parenting and early childhood development child easily accessible on their website, one of its best resources is here, where typing in your zip code can locate the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency nearest you and list standard rates for a variety of child care options in your area. If you do contact the agency, they can share information on state licensing requirement and the availability of child care subsidies, as well as make referrals. Note: This program is partially funded by the Child Care Bureau (CCB), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and most of the childcare.gov links to this site.

National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies: Budgeting Child Care Options

Another great NACCRA tool is this budget calculator for figuring out your total budget with emphasis on child care and school costs.

Child Care Law Center: Publications

This organization uses legal avenues to ensure every child has access to quality child care, and thus provides several publications in multiple languages targeted to providers as well as parents focusing on licensing and caring for children under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Pacer Center for Children with Disabilities

The Pacer Center is a great resource for parents and providers caring for children with disabilities, and this page links you extensive publications on issues such as bullying and mental health, webinars on topics including assistive technology, and to other organizations with overlapping goals.

Several websites offer the option to pay a service fee to locate child care resources in an area, and, often depending on the fee, provide in-depth and background information on providers and their skills. Although the Tennessee Economic Council on Women is not encouraging the use of any paid service, you should know these options for locating highly specialized child care are available.