Spotlight:

Patricia Crosby, Owner, Patricia’s Day Care, Baltimore, MD

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Child Care Aware® of America added four additions to our board of directors, of whom have expertise in military child care, nonprofit finance, bilingual education and child health, rounding out the organization’s newly expanded 17-member board.

Now more than ever, the need to protect the health of the most vulnerable among us is paramount. Children are our most valuable resource—they represent the very future of our nation. Yet over the past few decades children have faced increasing rates of chronic illness and developmental issues linked to environmental exposures and our changing climate:

Every week in the United States, nearly 11 million children younger than age five are in some type of child care arrangement, many of whom spend 30 hours or more per week in out of home care.  Over 100,000 of Kansas children are served through Kansas early care programs. Early care and education settings are a critical extension of the family home with continuity between the two being of prime importance.

In September we celebrated National Preparedness Month, and with it the beginning of hurricane season. Our emergency preparedness team has been hard at work, connecting with parents and child care providers and proving support, tools, and resources to those impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Child Care Aware® of America is also finalizing plans around our thought-leadership event of the year, 2017 Leadership Institute. We look forward to seeing you October 11-13 in Kansas City, Missouri! We are also pleased to announce that registration in now open for 2018 Symposium, our flagship event that addresses the hottest topics in research, policy, and practice in the early child care and education community. Join us for this and our exciting 30^th anniversary gala!

With the authorization of funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) initiative expiring tomorrow, September 30, Congress will miss the deadline for extending these critical programs. Unfortunately, this lapse in funding could put many programs at-risk of closing and deny children access to health insurance.