It is hard to believe that September is ending and we are already moving into October. And with that comes shorter days, cooler weather, and perhaps the most important thing—the final stretch in the presidential campaigns. The cost of child care has become a major issue for the 2016 elections, and we are excited to see both candidates addressing the importance of child care both during the debates and as part of their individual child care proposals. This is especially important as we continue to elevate these issues through our Child Care Works movement, designed to improve child care by shifting public opinion, generating policy solutions, and securing legislative victories. We invite you to join us and millions of others as we work together toward policy victories that will make quality, affordable child care a reality for all. Visit childcareworks.org to learn more about this exciting movement and how you can get involved.

Below are some additional highlights from September.

It’s a funny sounding name, but this virus is no joke.

The Zika virus is growing health concern that has the attention of lead health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).The Zika virus can be spread in three different ways. The most common way is when a mosquito bites someone who has Zika and then bites someone else, thus spreading the virus. Another way of spreading Zika is through unprotected sexual activity. A third route of transmission can happen when a pregnant woman gets Zika, she can pass it to her fetus. A fourth way is through a blood transfusion, however this has not occurred in the United States. The CDC has developed an infographic explaining how Zika is spread.

This week, Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., Executive Director, Child Care Aware® of America, and other leading experts in the child care space were on the Diane Rehm Show on NPR (88.5 FM) to discuss the issues surround child care in our country.

Child care has become a major issue in the presidential election. Our recently released Child Care in America: 2016 State Fact Sheets provide community leaders and policymakers with important data regarding the state of quality child care and early learning in their respective states, revealing just how big the challenges are that await the next president.

It was a crisp breezy fall morning as I drove my car into the garage near my job. Suddenly my cell phone rings and I look at the caller ID and take a deep breath. Sigh…it’s my daughter’s child care provider again.

We were excited to hear child care mentioned in the first 10 minutes of the first Presidential debate. It makes sense - 90% of Americans want the next president to expand access to child care and early learning opportunities. It's a critical issue that candidates across the aisle can agree on.

Child care is a necessity for many of today’s American families, especially low- and middle-income families, yet the cost of accessing high-quality care often rivals the cost of housing.

For four years running, the First Five Years Fund’s annual national bipartisan poll shows that early childhood education and care is a national priority for Americans, regardless of party. Even now, in the midst of an angry and polarized election, 90 percent of voters agree on one thing: Congress and the next president should work together to make quality early childhood education and care more accessible and affordable to low- and middle-income families. That includes 78 percent of Trump supporters and 97 percent of Clinton supporters.