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Mountain 
CHILD CARE

CONNECTIONS

Happy Family
Cute Baby Boy

Providing Family Referrals for the 13 most Western Counties in

North Carolina

Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Madison and Transylvania.

Expecting

Monday - Friday

8:00 am to 5:00 pm

We are here to help families make informed decisions about quality child care and other parenting concerns.


Simply answer some questions about your child care needs and we will provide you with a listing of referrals that meet your child care criteria.

Provider Services

Mountain Child Care Connections gives you the opportunity to list and update your child care provider profile. 

To complete or update your child care provider information, contact our Regional Child Care Resource Coordinator.

JFG bio photo.jpg

Jennifer Fouts
Mountain Child Care Connections Regional Child Care Resource Coordinator

Phone #: 1-877-752-5955

fouts.jennifer@swcdcinc.org

Jennifer Fouts works with the Child Care Resource and Referral Unit at Southwestern Child Development Commission as Regional Child Care Resource Coordinator for Mountain Child Care Connections. Jennifer has had many years of varied experience, working in early childhood education as a preschool teacher, toddler teacher, and kindergarten teacher before shifting her career toward professional development and training.  She is passionate about early childhood education, and looks forward to supporting families, child care programs, and communities through the CCR&R Consumer Education Project.

Much of Jennifer’s experience in the field has been focused specifically on supporting early childhood providers through consultation, technical assistance, and professional development.  For the past two years, Jennifer served as a Technical Assistance and Training Consultant in the Child Care Resource and Referral Unit at SWCDC. During her time in this role, Jennifer offered coaching, mentoring, technical assistance, and professional development training opportunities for early education professionals within the 13 counties of Region 8. Prior to her return to SWCDC in 2016, Jennifer worked at the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE), where she was as a Child Care Consultant for Macon, Clay, Cherokee, and Graham Counties. During her time at the DCDEE, Jennifer gained experience in regulatory systems, and assisted child care programs with maintaining compliance using the NC Quality Rating and Improvement System – the Star Rated License.  For a number of years, Jennifer served as Quality Enhancement Specialist for Southwestern Child Development Commission through the Region A Quality Enhancement Project; which was funded by Smart Start, through the Region A Partnership for Children. During her time with the Quality Enhancement Project, Jennifer worked closely with the regional Shape NC project, an effort funded by BCBSNC to address and reduce early childhood obesity. Additionally, Jennifer has worked as an Educational Enhancement Specialist, Early Childhood Mentorship Coordinator, and adjunct Early Childhood Education instructor at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, NC.  

Jennifer is a graduate of East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, where she earned a B.S. degree in Child Development and Family Relations with a concentration in Special Education; and Birth – Kindergarten Education Licensure.  She is trained to use a variety of early childhood quality assessment tools such as ITERS, ECERS, FCCERS, Pre-K CLASS, Toddler CLASS, POEMS, PAS, and NAPSACC.  Jennifer holds a Level 11 Early Educator Certificate with ECE TA and PD Provider Endorsements from the NC Institute for Child Development Professionals. Jennifer was previously a Board Member of the Burke County Childcare Resource and Referral Agency, and has served on numerous early childhood committees during her career.

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