Arlington, VA – Child Care Aware^® of America (CCAoA), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), National Head Start Association (NHSA), and National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA) would like to congratulate Brenda Petith and the staff at Brenda’s Child Care, LLC in North Logan, Utah. They have been named Provider of the Month for September 2016.

Do you believe all families should have access to affordable, high-quality child care? Are you a federal employee or member of the military? Do you know anyone who fits this description? Then you still have two months to select Child Care Aware^® of America as your CFC charity of choice!

Child Care Aware^® of America has been awarded three MarCom Awards as part of a 2016 creative competition for marketing and communications professionals.

• Platinum Award: Child Care Aware^® of America 2016-2017 Calendar
• Gold Award: Child Care Works website
• Gold Award: Child Care Aware^® of America Annual Report

Child Care Aware^® of America was selected as a winner from more than 300 categories of print, web, video, and strategic communications.

Yesterday, the Department of Education issued a non-regulatory guidance on the early learning opportunities in the "Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015." The guidance does not include any required actions that state and local education agencies must follow, rather, suggested activities to help strengthen early learning programs.

Sadly, every year lives are lost because smoke alarms are neglected. From 2009-2013, three out of five home fire deaths occurred in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. According to the National Fire Protection Association, smoke alarms in nearly 1 out of every 5 homes are not working.

This week, we are celebrating Fire Prevention Week. This year's theme is Don't Wait - Check the Date!

On August 8, 2016, Child Care Aware^® of America formerly launched a Child Care Information Poll. The poll generated 255 responses from parents around the nation. We would like to thank all who participated in and shared this poll. We also congratulate the winner of the $50 gift card drawing, awarded to a parent located in Tampa, Florida.

Child Care Aware^® of America collected responses from households of various sizes, income and education levels. Overall, 88% of respondents have children under five years of age.