Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) staff recently went to California to train members on advocacy and policy updates. CCAoA staff included Director of Policy Michelle Noth McCready, Senior Government Affairs Associate Nick Vucic and Communications and Public Affairs Specialist Sara Miller.

The bi-partisan Strong Start for America’s Children Act of 2013, introduced today by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Congressman George Miller (D-CA), and Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY), at an event on Capitol Hill sends a signal that the national conversation is just beginning around the importance of early learning. Senator Harkin, Rep. Miller, and Rep. Hanna joined Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Save the Children Ambassador actress Jennifer Garner and D.C. preschool children in a replica of an early learning classroom, and took part in activities and games that accentuate the difference quality early learning activities that begin at birth can make in a child’s development.

On Monday, November 4, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General released a report on the monitoring of licensed child care providers. The findings, while displaying the dire state of child care licensing standards nationwide, are not surprising.

Recently, Child Care Aware® of America had the great pleasure of traversing to Nevada for not one, but two advocacy trainings. Starting off with a training in Reno, hosted by the Children’s Cabinet and finishing with a training in Las Vegas, hosted at United Way of Southern Nevada, Child Care Aware® of America’s policy staff had a great opportunity to meet and work with a lot of great early childhood advocates in Nevada.

Child care is unaffordable for many families. The costs leave children in questionable environments that can have long-term consequences for them and for our nation’s future.

Today I joined First Lady Michelle Obama, Sesame Street and many coalition partners at the White House to continue the mission to end the childhood obesity epidemic. Let’s Move! and Sesame Workshop are partnering with the produce industry to use Elmo, Cookie Monster and Sesame Street’s other furry characters free of charge to help market fruits and veggies to children. Elmo and Rosita joined the First Lady to talk about how important healthy options are.