As you might remember from last week’s conversation, Gina Warner, CEO of the National Afterschool Association, talked about the importance of quality afterschool programming and what parents should consider in their search for care when their children are out of school. We also touched on the search for options for summer care and my anxiety about finding quality programming for my own kids. To ease my mind, I did a little bit of research and wanted to share my findings with you.

The importance of high-quality, affordable child care affects everyone. Child Care Aware^® of America is pleased to share with you our fourth story in Faces of Child Care, an eight-week series of stories from individuals of various walks of life who are affected by child care.

I’m a working mom of three kids. Now that the school year is almost over for my two older kids, it hit me - next year I’ll have one in middle school, one in elementary, and one in preschool. I’m not sure if we’ll keep our current before- and after- school care situations. And I’m still figuring out where everyone will be this summer!

We used to have a perspective on child care that it was just Play-doh and crayons. Now we know that the experiences children have in early life are helping to form how their brains develop. As a nation we can do better, and there is a real urgency to invest in the lives of children. Investment isn’t a choice, rather a necessity for current and future generations.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) requires that states develop consumer education information for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) parents, providers, and the general public on the following topics:

As the temperatures climb, the desire to involve children in water activities often rises as well.  After all, most of us enjoy the excitement and cooling effects that a swim in a pool, lake, or ocean can bring during the warm months!