The following list of links to early care and education-related Internet sites is by no means exhaustive, and the brief descriptions provided here are intended only to give a general sense of site contents. New sites and content pertinent to child care, child health and safety, and early childhood education are constantly being added to the Internet, and we encourage you to explore them. The sites listed below are good starting points. Most of them provide links to additional sites. 
 

Maryland Learning Links – Making Access Happen- A joint MSDE-Johns Hopkins University site designed to support and increase the participation of three- to five-year-old children with disabilities in public and private community-based early care and education programs. The parent Maryland Learning Links website also provides a wide range of information about related early childhood initiatives and resources.

www.marylandfamilynetwork.org- Site of the Maryland Family Network (MFN). Resources and information on early childhood program management, provider training and professionalism, public policy and child advocacy, school readiness initiatives, children with disabilities, and numerous related topics. Comprehensive child care resource and referral information for families and employers.

nrckids.org - Site of the National Resource Center (NRC) for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, located at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver . Contains: 

• The full text of Caring for Our Children - National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs (3rd Ed.)
• Child care licensing regulations for all 50 states and the District of Columbia
• Links to a variety of sites dedicated to early care and education and to child health and safety issues

naeyc.org – The site of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC advocates for public policies and funding to support a comprehensive, high-quality early childhood education system, engages in early childhood education research, and works to improve professional practice and working conditions in the early childhood field.  The NAEYC website provides a variety of early childhood policy, research, and accreditation resources.

www.msfcca.org -  The site of the Maryland State Family Child Care Association (MSFCCA). Contains information on issues pertinent to Maryland child care providers such as public policy initiatives and legislation updates, provider advocacy, professional development opportunities, Association events and membership.

www.mscca.org - Site of the Maryland State Child Care Association, which promotes the growth and development of professional licensed child care and learning centers in Maryland. Information on regulatory and legislative issues concerning centers, professional development opportunities, Association events and membership.

http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Land/LeadPoisoningPrevention- Site of the Maryland Department of Environment’s (MDE’s) Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, established to eliminate childhood lead poisoning. Extensive information on lead risk reduction for parents, homeowners, and tenants.

www.dsd.state.md.us - Site of the Maryland State Division of Documents (DSD), which records and publishes the official version of the entire Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). Under "What We Do" on the left side of the DSD home page, click on "COMAR Online" to access all 33 COMAR titles (each title usually corresponds to a State government department or agency). Title 13A is reserved for the State Board of Education, under which are located all regulations pertaining to Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) programs, including early care and education and child care licensing.

www.socem.info - This is the Maryland Sex Offenders Registry (SOCEM), which is maintained by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. In addition to providing detailed offender information, the site carries "amber alerts" for abducted children and an information/resource section for parents and educators on preventing and combating youth gangs.

casesearch.courts.state.md.us - This is the site of the Maryland Judiciary Case Search service, which provides free public access to the Maryland District Court and Circuit Court Case Management System.  District Court criminal, civil, and traffic case records and Circuit Court criminal and civil case records are available. The amount of historical data may vary by jurisdiction.

michie.lexisnexis.com - Provides access to the complete Annotated Code of Maryland (also known as the "Maryland Code"), which is Maryland's body of laws and the statutory basis for the Code of Maryland Regulations.  Click on the Maryland Code folder icon, and a list of the Code's statutory components (called "articles") will display.  Laws pertaining to the regulation of child care are found under Title 5, Subtitle 5, of the Family Law Article.

www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/care - Site of the US Department of Agriculture’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Information about the CACFP and resources on child nutrition and related topics. Downloadable child care program meal patterns.

www.cpsc.gov - Site of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Extensive information on product testing, safety recalls, and related topics.

www.nichd.nih.gov/sids - Site of the NIH Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Information and downloadable brochures in English and Spanish on the "Back to Sleep" campaign and preventing SIDS. 

www.childwelfare.gov - Offers resources on child abuse and neglect, including definitions, identification of signs and symptoms, statistics and data, risk and protective factors, perpetrators, the impact on individuals and society, and fatalities.

www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm - Site of the US Department of Justice’s ADA Home Page. Information on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, with a section toward the bottom of the page that addresses child care programs (Note: the section title says "child care centers", but the section also applies to family child care homes).

www.aap.org - Official site of the American Academy of Pediatrics. General information related to family and child health. Specific guidelines on pediatric issues, child safety topics, and disaster planning information, and updates on child health policy issues.

www.healthychildren.org – A specialty site operated by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that provides in-depth health and development information for all child ages from prenatal to young adult.

www.redcross.org - Site of the American National Red Cross. Information on the wide range of Red Cross services, including disaster preparedness and Homeland Security coordination. Disaster preparedness materials can be downloaded in over a dozen foreign languages as well as English.

www.readyatfive.org - Ready At Five is a Maryland-based, public/private partnership that monitors, advocates, and serves as a catalyst for systemic change to improve the care and education of Maryland's young children by exploring and promoting innovative models and practices aimed at improving school readiness.

www.mdpirc.org - The Maryland State Parental Information and Resource Center (MD PIRC), funded by the U. S. Department of Education, assists Maryland parents and families to help their children succeed in school. The MD PIRC's mission is to work with parents, educators and community members to increase family involvement and improve academic achievement by encouraging home-school-community partnerships in support of students.

childcareresearch.org - Child Care & Early Education Research Connections (CCEERC) promotes high quality research in child care and early education and the use of that research in policy making. CCEERC offers research and data resources for researchers, policy makers, early childhood practitioners, and others.

www.clasp.org – The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) focuses on issues affecting low-income and disadvantaged persons, working to advance the economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income persons. To achieve this goal, CLASP promotes progressive policies on welfare reform, child support, child care, early education, workforce development, child welfare, low-income fathers, disconnected youth, and ex-offenders reentering society.

nieer.org - The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) supports early childhood education initiatives by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research. NIEER's goal is to produce and communicate the knowledge base required to ensure that every American child can receive a good education at ages three and four.  The Institute offers independent research-based advice and technical assistance to four primary groups: policy makers, journalists, researchers, and educators.

www.acei.org – The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) is a globally-based organization that promotes and supports the optimal education, development, and well-being of children worldwide, the professional growth of early childhood educators, and efforts to meet the needs of children in a changing society. ACEI advocates for access to education, equity in educational settings, quality educational content, and the child's right to education.

www.seiu500.org – Site of SEIU Local 500, which is the legally recognized collective bargaining representative in the State of Maryland for Child Care Providers who participate in the Child Care Scholarship program. This website includes a copy of the collective bargaining agreements, benefits and discounts for child care providers, as well as other resources helpful to Family Child Care providers in the State of Maryland. SEIU Local 500 represents more than 4,000 early learning professionals in Maryland and Washington, DC.

PreSchoolTeacher.org- For individuals considering a career in early childhood education, this resource site provides a wide variety of information about the importance of early education, state licensing requirements, preschool teacher preparation programs, salary expectations, continuing education requirements, and advanced degree options. This information is presented for other states as well as for Maryland.