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Responsive Support

Investors fund national issue-area organizations through the Alliance for one simple reason—the Alliance has the knowledge of state organizations and opportunities necessary to make sure the national expertise is applied where it is wanted, needed, and will make a real difference for every child.

Long known for the customized and hands-on support it provides early childhood policy advocates, the Alliance refers to its technical assistance program as “Responsive Support.” The Alliance funds a deep bench of national organizations, seasoned consultants, and subject matter experts with the expectation that they will provide real-time support to states as they make long-term plans or address short-term crises.

Focusing more on state’s particular landscapes and specific needs, we encourage advocates to reach out and “just ask” the members of the responsive network for any of the expansive variety of supports available.

    • Centered on “hands-on” support over “off-the-shelf” support
    • Tailored to the state’s particular political landscape
    • Real-time response to crisis or opportunity
    • Can be a major project (e.g. a comprehensive early childhood data dashboard), a smaller need (e.g. legislative testimony), or a immediate response (e.g. addressing an unexpected budget cut)

Alliance responsive support is a vital resource that plays a huge role in their ability to advance state policies that improve outcomes for children birth through age 8.

How are organizations in the network using responsive support to advance state early childhood agendas? 

West Virginia Gets Help Developing a Powerful Child Care Dashboard

See how responsive support provider Child Care Aware of America played a crucial role in the development of West Virginia's powerful new child care dashboard. 

Delaware Early Childhood Policy

Responsive Support Providers Bring Firepower to Delaware's Efforts to Advance Child Care and Home Visiting

See how responsive support providers NIEER and NWLC jumped into the help advocates get the wins.

Combined with strategic investments in states, responsive support and countless other opportunities to connect knit the Alliance network into a community that accelerates effectiveness and operationalizes equity. 

"Our Alliance responsive support providers at the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment and the Committee on Economic Development testified to the state Legislature, adding valuable credibility and advancing our policy agenda for affordable access to high-quality child care for all Vermont families by 2025."