I love summer! Warm weather, even when it’s humid and sticky, beats the winter layering and trying to keep track of the extra accessories like mittens, scarves, coats, and boots. The “lazy days” of summer are here – and yet I still got that phone call. I missed an appointment today, scheduled a long time ago for my daughter. Ugh! I guess I was a bit too relaxed on the summer no-school routine!

Each week, millions of children are shuffled between child care providers due to unpredictable schedules and limited child care availability. The landscape for child care and early education is evolving as more families rely on two-parent incomes, and costs for early care increases. States have a pivotal role in implementing policies that aim to improve the quality of early care and ease of access for millions of families across the country.

The 2015 State Fact Sheets, released today, will provide community leaders and policymakers with important data regarding the state of quality child care and early learning in their respective states.

At Child Care Aware® of America we believe information sharing, advancing discussion, and taking action are critical to affecting positive change for our nation’s children and families. We want to spark the conversation about early childhood and the future of our nation, which is what The Raising of America series and associated public engagement campaign are all about.

The nationwide Day of Summer Learning is Friday, June 19, 2015! This is a national advocacy day led by the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) and meant to show the importance of continuing learning, safety and wellness for children during the summer months.

April is National Poetry Month, which may seem silly and perhaps even frivolous with everything else going on in the early childhood education space, but it's actually quite important.

Awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been in the news recently, with more and more advocates and celebrities sharing their stories – whether it’s helpful to the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or not.