As we settle into our fall schedules and wait for the changing of the leaves here in Northern Virginia, I always feel a little nostalgic for the warm months of summer.

Looking back on the month of September, we were quite busy wrapping up our summer work and welcoming back Congress. Take a quick peek at some of what you may have missed here at Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) headquarters…

Congratulations to Ilse Wilson and the staff at Fairyland Family Child Care in Sandy, Utah. They have been named Provider of the Month for August 2015, and they are the first home care provider to be honored through the new campaign!

Strengthening the economy and building a competitive workforce starts with high quality child care and early childhood education – and not all corporations understand that. Now, you have a chance to bring recognition to business partners who not only understand, but who take action.

It’s no coincidence that we’re headed into hurricane season just as Emergency Preparedness Month is beginning. Hurricane Katrina, now ten years ago, has shown us where we’re lacking in disaster and emergency preparedness as a country, and where we need to step up as organizations and individuals.

I’m writing this as I ride the train from New York City headed back to Washington, D.C. on the last day of summer. Tomorrow the kids will return back to school in Virginia, and I am certain that there will be anticipation and perhaps a bit of (unadmitted) anxiety for what’s to come in the school year ahead. But before I too begin to think about the launch of the year ahead, I must share about our last weeks of summer!

School buses are back on the roads again for most of the country, which means day time child care may not be an issue for many school-aged children right now. But what happens to children whose parents work long or irregular hours? Where do they go for care after school?