You may be wondering how you landed on an article written by a CPA that is not related to a technical issue? Allow me to explain. Recently, my wife and I received an opportunity to attend the Child Care Aware® of America's 2017 Family Advocacy Summit. I have been on a journey on the road to advocacy in the midst of tax season.

Spotlight

Kira Boothe, Vista Colina Emergency Family Shelter & Child Development Program, Phoenix, Arizona

In 2014, with the reauthorization of the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), all states were required to have stronger licensing standards. States were then searching for tools to both document their current licensing regulations and develop benchmarks toward meeting best practices for health and safety. To meet that need, we developed CCAoA’s Child Care Licensing Database.

Most women have never heard of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) (less than 9%) but they need to know about this virus if they are pregnant or intend to become pregnant. CMV is a common and sometimes serious virus for a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

February 24, 2012 was the day my life changed. I became a father to a precious baby girl. As a newly minted parent, I wanted to provide the best possible life for her. My wife was fortunate to have banked enough vacation and sick time to stay home for the first 12 weeks after birth, and I was able to modify my schedule to maximize my time with our daughter during those early formative months. Like many Americans with infants, maternity leave ended, and my wife went back to work earlier than both of us would have liked.

States face unique challenges in exploring child care supply and demand and directing precious resources to ensure accessibility to quality child care. With the passage of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, it is critical for states and communities to understand how to study child care supply and demand, analyze their findings, identify areas of child care deserts, and implement policy solutions that ensure parents have access to quality child care. At the local and state levels, child care leaders (especially CCR&Rs) have traditionally examined child care access, conducted needs assessments, and mapped supply and demand for target populations.