For more than three decades, thread has been working to advance child development and promote early education outcomes in Alaska.
thread’s history began in 1985 when it first opened as Child Care Connection in a closet-sized room in the Alaska State Health & Human Services building in Anchorage. Child Care Connection was among the initial grantees for the federal Child Care and Development Block grant.
In 2009 Child Care Connection became thread and partnered with Thrivalaska (formerly Play N Learn) and AEYC-SEA, to deliver child care resource and referral services as a statewide network until 2023. The name thread was chosen to signify “the common thread” that ties together a network of support for Alaska’s families, early educators, and communities. Today, thread delivers services statewide with staff located in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Wasilla and the Kenai.
thread has worked tirelessly for the last three decades to support families and early educators in order to increase access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education in Alaska.
More milestones from thread’s history:
2000
Child Care Connection in Anchorage moves to the Success by 6 Building in the Mountain View Community.
2002
Initial dialogue begins around implementing a Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS) for Alaska.
2006
The first economic impact study on the early care and education field is released by the Alaska System for Early Education Development (SEED) in partnership with The McDowell Group.
2009
Child Care Connection becomes thread.
2011
The Alaska Early Childhood Coordinating Council (AECCC) is established to promote positive outcomes for young children.
2012
thread begins administering the Child Care Assistance Program for Northern/Interior Alaska.
thread’s Safe Sleeping for Alaska’s Babies Campaign replaces outdated cribs in early childhood education programs throughout Alaska with new products meeting national safety standards. It also raises awareness of safe sleep practices in programs throughout the state.
2013
thread’s We’re Ready Campaign raises awareness of high-quality child care factors: licensed, healthy, safe and playful.
Management of the Anchorage Imagination Library, a program that provides a new, high-quality book in the mail each month to children ages 0-5, transitions from thread to Best Beginnings after four years of operations.
2014
Congress reauthorizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) after an 18-year hiatus. The new law strengthens health and safety standards in child care.
2014 – 2015
The Happy, Healthy Babies initiative assists early childhood education programs in creating an environment that supports breast feeding.
The thread Awards program launches to recognize excellence in the field in honor of late Board member Cindy Harrington.
2015
thread hosts the first Summit on the Economic Impact of Early Care & Learning. This biennial event brings together Alaska business leaders, medical professionals, policy makers, and community members to explore and discuss the economic impact the early childhood education industry has on our state.
2016
Learn & Grow launches. Alaska joins 43 other states in offering a Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS). This new statewide system is called Learn & Grow, housed and managed by thread.
The Art By Children (ABC) Project, a collaboration between the Alaska State Council on the Arts and thread, brings together local artists and early childhood education programs from across the state.
The ongoing Obesity Prevention Initiative assists early childhood education programs in reducing childhood obesity by helping children build healthy habits. The initiative places an emphasis on improving practices involving nutrition and physical activity which align with the national Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) program. This quality initiative continues to be offered each year.
2018
thread launches call center services for Help Me Grow, a project of the All Alaska Pediatric Partnership to link families with community resources that support child development.
thread begins administering the Child Care Assistance Program for Southeast Alaska.
The Nap Mat Exchange Project – a partnership between thread, the Anchorage Health Department, the Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT), and Healthy Babies Bright Futures – swaps more than 330 old nap mats for new, toxic-free ones in Anchorage child care programs in an effort to protect children from neurotoxic chemical exposures. Read the Healthy Babies Bright Futures case study here.
2020
thread responds to the COVID-19 pandemic by moving its operations virtual, and providing rapid relief to child care programs and early educators impacted by the pandemic.
The Children’s Place, a child care program operated by thread in partnership with the State of Alaska, closes after 20 years.
Help Me Grow call center services transition from thread to the All Alaska Pediatric Partnership.
2021
Child Care Stabilization – thread in partnership with the State of Alaska Child Care Program Office (CCPO) embraces the mission of distributing federal relief funds to Alaska’s child care system to help stabilize child care businesses and retain workers.
Learn & Grow rolls out the full 5-level framework for programs working on continuous quality improvement.
2022
Child Care Stabilization Continues – thread, in partnership with the Child Care Program Office, continues efforts to stabilize the child care sector, running Phase 2 and 3 of the Child Care Stabilization Grant program. More than $40M is awarded to the field.
thread launches several new Quality Initiatives for child care to provide technical and financial assistance for strengthening business practices, supporting health and wellness, infant-toddler care, and more.
2023
thread, in partnership with the Child Care Program Office, offers two competitive grant programs to support community innovation and program improvement in child care.
The Quality Child Care Creates Futures Campaign launches to raise awareness of quality child care and its importance for Alaska.
Governor Dunleavy announces a Child Care Task Force to propose recommendations for sustainable policy and funding solutions addressing the child care crisis. The task force recommendation is part of thread’s 2023 legislative agenda.
thread’s Future
thread is working strategically throughout the state to advance the quality of early education and child development. Over the next decade, thread’s goal is that high-quality early care and education programs are identified as models of quality across the state. This goal requires the continued advancement and development of Learn & Grow, Alaska’s Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS) as well as Alaska’s System for Early Education Development (SEED). thread will be focused on strengthening professional development in the early childhood education field to better meet children’s needs and increase the capacity of the early education workforce.
Another long-term goal is to grow Alaska’s Early Education Fund for Alaska’s Children, an endowment housed at the Alaska Community Foundation. The purpose of this endowment is to support and reward programs seeking and achieving quality standards as well as to increase grant and scholarship opportunities for early educators.
