I’m writing this as I ride the train from New York City headed back to Washington, D.C. on the last day of summer. Tomorrow the kids will return back to school in Virginia, and I am certain that there will be anticipation and perhaps a bit of (unadmitted) anxiety for what’s to come in the school year ahead. But before I too begin to think about the launch of the year ahead, I must share about our last weeks of summer!

School buses are back on the roads again for most of the country, which means day time child care may not be an issue for many school-aged children right now. But what happens to children whose parents work long or irregular hours? Where do they go for care after school?

Washington, D.C. – August 28, 2015 – Thanks to a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) is pleased to announce that we are expanding our Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) technical assistance activities in targeted states to emphasize health, nutrition, and obesity prevention with the Health Child Care, Healthy Communities project.

As August winds down and we get ready for a new school year we all have plenty of tasks to cross off our “Back to School” list – getting school supplies, nailing down school and activity schedules, hurriedly helping our children finish their summer reading, and even sometimes helping our children start their summer reading!

Arlington, VA - Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Head Start Association (NHSA), and National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA) would like to congratulate Kristy Whitley and the deserving staff at Mount Moriah Child Development Center in Matthews, North Carolina. They have been named Provider of the Month for July 2015, the first provider to be honored through the new campaign.

I had a beautiful drive into our office’s in Arlington, VA today – not only is it a sunny clear day, I have the good fortune of driving along the Potomac River with a breathtaking view of the nation's Capital. Even more amazing about this morning’s drive? Very little traffic! Ah, August is here and for the next several weeks many are taking their summer vacations…

That said, July was busier than ever!