When it comes to a child's safety, something as simple as sitting in a car seat cannot be taken for granted. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 1,638 children, ages 14 years and younger, died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes during 2004 and approximately 214,000 were injured. Of those children killed, half were unrestrained. A survey of more than 17,500 children found that only 15 percent in safety seats were correctly harnessed into properly installed seats. Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) drew awareness to those issues in an effort to help parents by presenting a free, Back-to-School Car Seat Inspection for them on Sept. 9. It was held in the Babies R Us parking lot at 9280 Rosedale Highway in Bakersfield. Several local organizations partnered with CCCC, including State Farm Insurance, Babies R Us, California Highway Patrol, Kern County Fire and Public Health departments, Bakersfield City Police and Culligan Water. More

If the media is the message, then TV may soon be bringing smiles to the faces of many young children, thanks to the plans of the Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) Foundation, Kern County Children's Dental Health Network and Kern Education Television Network, operated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. CCCC got the ball rolling in December 2005, when it applied for and received a grant from the American Dental Association (ADA) Harris Fund to support the production of two Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in English and Spanish to be aired on local television stations in Kern County. What the PSAs will deal with is simple yet vitally important to preventing tooth decay -- encouraging parents and their children to use fluoride, brush and floss their teeth daily and have regular dental check-ups. More

Several Kern County parents discovered owning a child car seat does not necessarily mean safety for their children. They were among a steady stream of adults who brought their cars, child seats and in many cases children to the Community Connection for Child Care’s (CCCC) free “Back-to-School Child Car Seat Inspection” on September 25 at the “Babies R’ Us” parking lot in northwest Bakersfield. “Our goal was to make the public aware of how important child care seat safety is, especially now that school is back in session,” said Brooke Antonioni, CCCC special projects facilitator. More

It could have been any street corner on any block in Bakersfield. A van was broadsided by a car. Both were heaps of twisted metal. Smoke was everywhere. Fire crews and ambulance paramedics worked furiously to free a seriously-injured, trapped passenger, while another was being tended to on the curb. The whole incident was captured by a video camera. More

It was free and the word most often uttered by the young children who attended was “fun.” On July 12, Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) presented the 17th annual Children’s Day to Explore the Arts and Sciences at the newly dedicated, Kelly F. Blanton Student Education Center in east Bakersfield. More

There are ways businesses can help make child care more affordable for their employees, as those who attended the April 30th Child Care Roundtable in Bakersfield discovered. The gathering held at Hodel’s Country Dining and sponsored by Community Connection for Child (CCCC), the Packard Foundation and First Five Kern brought together almost 100 community business leaders, child care providers and parents. More

“Kids in the Kitchen” is not a new TV reality show featuring goats dining on home cooked meals. It is a new interactive educational TV series designed to inspire children to eat nutritious foods. The first videotaping was on December 17 in the kitchen of Urner’s Inc, a large appliance store in Bakersfield. The cast consisted of Lisa Krch, KBAK-TV news anchor and Jason Krause, a program facilitator in Community Connection for Child Care’s (CCCC) Food Program. Pairs of children between the ages of three and eight were called up from a live audience to assist in preparation of the food. More

When emergency situations occur, they can be confusing, frightening, even paralyzing to an adult. How would young children, who have never been exposed to that kind of trauma, react? Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) Productions and the California Child Care Initiative (CCCIP) are producing a video that will help educate youngsters about how to handle emergencies and at the same time remove some of their fear and uncertainty about the unknown. More

Give young children a day in the park, an opportunity to learn and a chance to be seen on TV and you might have created a recipe for educational success. That is the belief of those involved in the Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) Exempt Provider Training and Support Services program (EPTSS) who have visited four county parks over the past few weeks giving children and those who take care of children a chance to learn new games that will benefit their educational development. At Shafter's Mannel Park, everyone was videotaped playing games so that the learning experience could be passed on to those who could not attend. More

Child care in Kern County, is like comparing apples to almonds. In 1997, child care's gross revenues nearly matched that of the apple industry bringing in $56.8 million for the county. Four years later, in 2001, child care increased to $140.8 million, almost as much revenue as the almond industry generates. More

When one of Teresa Ortiz’ children became ill on August 11, she may have thought an opportunity to outfit her children for school for free was lost. Two of her children had been scheduled to take part in the Mervyn’s ChildSpree along with 38 other Kern County children but the illness forced Ortiz to cancel. All was not lost. Community Connection for Child Care and Mervyn’s California at East Hills Mall re-scheduled the family for August 17. More

It didn’t matter whether they used a shovel or a finger. Children, ages 3-12, found plenty of fun ways to spend a recent Bakersfield morning immersing themselves in the arts and sciences. Presented by Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) Advisory Council and sponsored by The Bakersfield Californian, the 15th annual Children’s Day to Explore the Arts and Sciences had attendees digging up mud to make adobe bricks and designing colorful shapes on construction paper with finger paints. More

Community Connection for Child Care (CCCC) has provided a solution for parents who consider getting their children to the dentist a teeth-pulling experience. CCCC brings the dentist to the children. More