Help for families struggling to pay for quality child care, such as the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), is, pivotal to supporting quality child care in the nation. Strategically, states are already investing CCDBG funds in raising the quality of child care programs, as well as in efforts to improve affordability of and access to child care that support workforce participation throughout the economy. We need data from states to understand the child care landscape and help guide state and community-level decision-makers, policymakers, child care advocates, and program administrators in their push for accessible, affordable, quality child care.

Vroom has been an exciting addition to the work we do at the Capital District Child Care Council.  Children develop cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically through play. By bringing VROOM to the Capital District area of Albany, New York, we were able to share the brain building benefits of play with the community we serve. It has allowed us to boost family engagement and provide information on the importance of relationship building, all while supporting the early years of a child’s development.

One year ago, I stepped into my new role as Editor-in-Chief of Exchange, a magazine for early childhood leaders. I was to fill the biggest shoes imaginable—those of a founding editor who had helmed the magazine since its inception 38 years ago. Although I’m a mother of two young boys, I was new(ish) to the field of early childhood. I’d previously edited a university alumni magazine, but taking over a bi-monthly 96-page professional publication offered me a learning curve as steep as Space Mountain.

With June we welcomed the start of summer—longer days, the end of the school year, and summer vacations. We are pleased to share several exiting new work, most notably our recently released child care state licensing database. Additionally, read more below about our advocacy work on the horizon in states, important programmatic initiatives gaining traction, and upcoming webinars for our members. Look for the release of our 2017 State Fact Sheets on July 13, and stay tuned for more details on upcoming work around states-based child care deserts research.

Arlington, VA – Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Head Start Association (NHSA), National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA), National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), Teachstone, and the Afterschool Alliance would like to congratulate Joy Phelps and the staff at the Hampton University Child Development Center in Hampton, Virginia. They have been named Provider of the Month for June 2017.

I am a 26-year-old single mother of a beautiful little girl. I love being a parent. But the cost of child care for a child under the age of two is so expensive in the Washington, DC metro area. More than half of my paycheck goes to child care. As millennial, that is not much money starting out for a single parent. I thought making just over $48K a year would be the best thing in the world until I realized that I won't be able to qualify for state assistance anymore. That, paired with the cost of healthcare, has taken a toll on me as a mother. I am trying my best but I feel as though I'll never get out of this expense hole that I seem to have fallen into.