On Wednesday, comedian and host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah devoted a portion of his nightly show to talk about – child care. He spent 10 minutes exploring the many flaws of our current child care system. But his most pointed criticism was aimed at the way child care in the U.S. is funded.

“Good morning! I sure have missed your smiling face! Could we set up a virtual visit this week so I could see you and we could talk about how everything is going in your program?”

As funny as this may sound, this has gotten one of our outstanding consultants many virtual visits.

Connections are so important when working with child care providers. Consultants make many connections with the providers with whom they work. For the consultant mentioned above, just saying she misses seeing them is enough to rekindle that connection during this time of social distancing and virtual consultation visits. The providers missed the consultant too, and were happy to tackle technology just to see their consultant again!

Families put a lot of trust in child care providers every day. Part of that trust is knowing that children will be safe and cared for in any situation, including during and after an emergency. Child care providers who plan ahead are better-prepared and will know what to do to respond to an emergency and keep the children in their care safe. By planning and preparing in advance, they are also able to recover faster after an emergency.  

Earlier this month, President Biden announced the details of his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan. The proposal provides emergency relief to families and businesses during the economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic.

The plan includes executive actions the President quickly implemented after taking office. The Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide guidance for child care programs to safely reopen and operate. HHS will also provide guidance to assist child care programs in meeting the needs of children, families and staff affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on trauma-informed care, behavioral and mental health supports and family support.

La salud y la seguridad en los entornos de cuidado infantil son fundamentales en todo momento. La pandemia de COVID-19 ha ampliado las responsabilidades de los proveedores de cuidado infantil para garantizar que el medio ambiente sea seguro y saludable. Un nuevo recurso de CCAoA, La salud ambiental y la seguridad en los entornos del cuidado infantil: Consideraciones durante los brotes virales, destaca importantes preocupaciones de salud y seguridad ambiental para los entornos de cuidado infantil tanto en la familia como en el centro. ¡Puedes encontrar el recurso completo aquí! A continuación, se incluye un breve resumen del recurso.