Since 2019, Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) has partnered with Nemours Children’s Health to create geographic information system (GIS) technology story maps to visualize and better understand child care program participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Story maps combine both maps and text to help users interpret what they see. They can help us visualize current challenges and opportunities in a state’s early care and education systems. 

This blog recaps our work to develop the story maps and explores how states, including Pennsylvania and Vermont, are using these tools to make data-informed, strategic decisions to promote CACFP and increase provider participation.

There are approximately 67.8 million individuals (about twice the population of California) for whom English is not their primary language spoken at home. The United States Census Bureau indicates that the number of individuals speaking a language other than English at home increased from 23.1 million in 1980 to 67.8 million in 2019. According to the Census, the five most frequently spoken languages other than English are Spanish/Spanish Creole, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Arabic. The accessibility of resources and support in languages other than English can have a significant impact on families seeking child care finding a setting that is reflective of their language and culture. Unfortunately, access to resources, information and professional development (PD) opportunities in other languages for members of the child care workforce is limited.  

 

Building off a busy legislative year for child care in 2023, we are already seeing earlyindicators of which states are prioritizing child careinvestmentsthis year.This is a key moment for states to prioritize child care, as it is unclear if there is a path forward in Congress to secure significant funding in 2024 before federal relief funding is fully exhausted and attention shifts to the November elections. This blog explores the states’ legislative landscape, governors’stated priorities and what’snext for states in 2024. 

Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) staff frequently serve as subject matter experts in emergency preparedness, response and recovery (EPRR). Related job duties typically include emergency preparedness plan reviews for child care programs, emergency preparedness training delivery, distribution of emergency supplies, and support to the child care workforce following a disaster. These responsibilities are typically added to another role within CCR&R and are often not listed in a job description. Many CCR&R staff had no experience or training in emergency preparedness, response and recovery before taking on the role. In many CCR&R organizations, emergency preparedness, response and recovery is a role that surfaces just after a disaster occurs and may be short-term. In other instances, usually driven by grant fund availability, emergency preparedness work is prioritized for a defined period of time, but not always sustained or embedded in ongoing service delivery.