History

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 (CCDBG) in 1992. Our sister organizations, Thrivalaska (formerly Play N Learn) and AEYC-SEA, began receiving child care resource
and referral funding in the following years. The three organizations joined together to form a statewide child care resource and referral network
in 2009.

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.

Although thread has worked tirelessly for the last three decades to support families and early educators, there is still much
work to be done 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.
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.
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.
2016: Alaska joins 43 other states in offering a Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS). This new statewide system is called Learn
& Grow.
2018: thread begin administering the Child Care Assistance Program for Southeast Alaska.