Introduction 
                

            

          		
        

      

      
 
        


          This is the story of the 
          Short Term Child Care Program (STCC) and the National Capital Region 
          Emergency Child Care Consortium (NCR-ECCC) of Ottawa, Canada. 

        
In June 1997, Short Term Child Care (STCC) 
          received a grant from the J.W. 
          McConnell Family Foundation under its "Family Friendly Flexibility 
          Strategy". The focus of STCC's two-year Strategic Initiatives Project 
          was the investigation and possible activation of areas strategic 
          to the Short Term Child Care Program's 
          continuing viability and growth. Those areas identified were the 
          potential expansion of STCC to include elder care as a work/life service; 
          caregiver recruitment, retention and training; and, increasing service 
          accessibility. Each of the three areas represented (and continues to 
          represent) key strategic areas for STCC. 

        
The Strategic Initiatives Project also 
          identified as important the dissemination of its experience and lessons 
          learnt to other communities interested in providing similar support 
          to working families. This document catalogues the experiences and 
          learnings of the Short Term Child Care 
          Program.