Join the Alaska Parent Action Center! Bringing parents from across Alaska together to advocate for increased access to affordable, high quality early care and education opportunities for all Alaskan children.
Parent TALK is a time for parents to come together and share ideas and ask questions about the joys and challenges of parenting. All Parent TALKs are FREE and are from 6:00pm-7:30pm at the Success By 6 Building at 3350 Commercial Drive in Anchorage. Parent TALK's are family-friendly and include dinner and children's activities too. To reserve your seat, receive upcoming Parent TALK notices or suggest a future topic for Parent TALK, please email info@threadalaska.org.
NEW! thread is excited to present Parent TALK webinars which can now be seen online! Click on each webinar topic below to view instantly (webinars are in elluminate software).
I’m Moving, I’m Learning: Take your parent’s words to heart and learn the incredible value of play.
Growing A Reader: Grow a reader during summer! Turn story time into quality time, and watch your child’s language and literacy skills blossom.
Restoring Childhood: Learn more about the value of simplicity in parenting and the steps you can take to cherish and preserve fleeting childhood experiences.
Each Parent TALK webinar will include adult and children's books and resources. Please email info@threadalaska.org for more information. Additionally, you can register for Parent TALK by visiting the NEW Registration Form.
Join Parent Central and get connected to information and resources, and become part of a growing network of concerned parents. Over 73,000 parents have already joined! If you have a child under age 8, you don't want to miss this opportunity. Sign up to receive Parent Central Express, the monthly e-newsletter chock full of tips for parents, activities, and ways to get connected in your community. Membership is free. To become a member, click here.
Lending Libraries
We have over 3,000 books, magazines, journals, video tapes, audio tapes, CD/ROMS and other materials. Library membership is free. If you live in a rural Alaska community, materials can be mailed to you. For membership and location information, visit your regional thread office's lending library.
thread's Southcentral lending library is located at the thread office in Anchorage. If you have questions or to learn more about the library, please call (907) 265-3100 or email info@threadalaska.org. thread staff "top picks" for this month include:
Houses and Homes, by Ann Morris, illustrated by Ken Heyman
Special people, Special Ways, by Arlen Maguire, illustrated by Sheila Bailey
Fluffy and Baron, by Laura Rankin
The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper
Wheels on The Bus, by Slvie Kantorovitz
Lull-a-bye, Little One, by Dianne Ochiltree, illustrated by Hideko Takahashi
Caring for children can be overwhelming. thread staffs a warm-line for parents and early care educators, with an Early Childhood Specialist who can provide individualized child development information, discipline suggestions, or other supports.
The warm-line is a support line around parenting techniques and child development issues. We do not provide ongoing counseling; however we will provide referrals to other appropriate agencies if callers are in the midst of a crisis or need more comprehensive social service assistance. Contact your regional thread office for warm-line services.
Financial Resources
Child Care Assistance Benefits: This web site will help families determine the possibility that they may be eligible for Child Care Benefits. It includes an online calculator for determining the possible level of assistance.
The Earned Income Tax Credit or the EITC is a refundable federal income tax credit for low to moderate income working individuals and families. Congress originally approved the tax credit legislation in 1975 in part to offset the burden of social security taxes and to provide an incentive to work. When EITC exceeds the amount of taxes owed, it results in a tax refund to those who claim and qualify for the credit. To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if they do not have a filing requirement.
The IRS has information about filing requirements for dependents, who is responsible for a child's return, how to figure a dependent's standard deduction and exemption (if any), and whether a dependent can claim exemption from federal income tax withholding.
Child Care Aware is a national program of the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) and helps families learn more about the elements of high-quality child care and how to locate programs in their communities. Check out Child Care Aware's "Finding Help Paying for Child Care."
The Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) Child Care Assistance Program provides financial assistance to Alaska Native and Native American families who are in need of daycare services for children under the age of 13. If the family is receiving Public Assistance, they must contact their case worker to request an authorization for child care assistance.
The Alaska Youth & Family Network (AFYN) and CMS (Medicaid/Medicare) have partnered to let you know that insurance for your child can happen. Even if you have some medical insurance, you may be eligible for additional financial assistance. Find out about medical, counseling, dental, vision and prescription coverage for your kids! www.ayfn.org.
Additional Resources
thread has resources for moms and dads! Check out this flier for dads who are in the driver's seat when it comes to finding child care.
Strengthening Families is a new, proven, cost-effective strategy to prevent child abuse and neglect. This strategy involves early childhood centers working to build protective factors around children by supporting family strengths and resiliency. Currently thread is collaborating with United Way of Anchorage to continue to support parents whose children are enrolled in a child care program. For more information about the Strengthening Families Initiative or how to become a Strengthening Families site, please contact: Sheila Wray, swray@threadalaska.org, (907) 563-1995.
Best Beginnings offers several versions of free Activity Guides to help child care providers, parents, family members enhance a child’s development and help prepare him or her for success in school and success in life.
Be up-to-date on new crib standards, posted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families contains financial and other resources involving Head Start and Tribal Child Care.
thread understands families want the best for their children. We encourage you to use this guide along with our staff support and website to assist you in understanding and finding quality child care.
thread Summer April through June 2011 newsletter with a literacy theme
NOTE: Many of the documents are in PDF format and require Adobe Acrobat Reader for
viewing. Acrobat Reader software may be downloaded for free from Adobe Systems, Inc.
