On Dec. 3-4, Child Care Aware® of America’s Executive Director of Respite Care of America (RCoA) Fran Jamison and Senior Vice President of Program Impact Ariel Ford participated in the National Child Care Innovation Summit: Business Leaders in Action. The event, hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), and presented by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, aimed to "dive deep" into how the business community can support their employees and working communities in tackling child care challenges that are preventing families and economies from thriving. Fran coordinated experts for a panel that highlighted the U.S. Military’s approach to child care, how parts of it might translate to the private sector, and how child care plays a critical role in national security. Ariel presented on a panel that highlighted emerging issues in child care in disaster preparedness, relief, and resilience. 

 

National Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day celebrates the use ofGIS, a powerful software toolused to create and display maps that help geographically illustrate and communicate complex problems. GIS maps can help identify assets and resources, as well as understand underlying location-based trends in datasets.  

This year’s Leadership Institute—Strong Leaders, Strong Child Care—was all about putting a firm stake in the ground on the essential role child care resource and referral leaders play in creating strong child care. Attendees did not disappoint! They came full of energy, ready to ask the hard questions, and fired up to be bold and loud.  

One theme that emerged over the two days is that it’s up to us claim our space. Our field is uniquely positioned to fix America’s broken and inequitable child care system so that all families have access to affordable, quality child care that makes children, child care professionals, employers, the military, and our nation stronger. It’s time we own it. 

That sentiment came across loud and clear in our plenary session, A New Framework to Drive Our Collective Impact. Child care resource and referral can no longer be America’s best kept secret. Our power comes in clearly articulating the value of what we do in a manner that people can understand and that reflects what they care about. Our work is built on the brand promise that everyone is stronger when we make America child care strong. Here’s how CCAoA will be framing who we are at the national level: