Washington, DC – Today, Child Care Aware® of America released its 2018 Checking In: A Snapshot of the Child Care Landscape, a report that summarizes the supply and demand for child care in each state, the average cost of licensed and accredited child care, and the services provided by Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies. The report also sheds light on state Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) and other statewide initiatives, resulting in findings that show a positive return on investment for quality child care and the overall health and wellness of children.

The evidence is clear - children who participate in high-quality programs during their early years demonstrate lasting effects in IQ, boosted academic and economic achievement, and lower incidences of childhood obesity and chronic illness. With nearly 15 million children under 6 who may need child care each day, the stakes have never been higher for families across the United States and for our economy. Economists have shown that investing in high-quality child care has proven to result in a 13 percent return on that investment, per child. Families without access to quality child care due to high cost, irregular work hours, or inadequate supply, are at an extreme disadvantage; their children and our society lose out. Help for families struggling to pay for quality child care is pivotal to supporting quality child care across the country.

If you’re like most CCR&R professionals out there, you’ve likely heard about the Power to the Profession initiative, but you might not know much about it. Maybe you know the initiative was started to transform the early childhood field but aren’t sure what that really means or entails. Maybe you’re already excited about Power to the Profession but you’re still unclear what it has to do with you as a CCR&R or what you can do to get involved.  

If you're like most child care resource and referral agencies, you want to get the word out about your agency so that providers, families, and community partners know about your agency and the services you provide, but you have just a small advertising budget to work with. Paid online advertising is a great place to start. Jumping into paid ads can seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be. In this post, we’ll break down the two main kinds of paid advertising—paid search and paid social—to help you decide where to begin.

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) and the Bezos Family Foundation announce their continued partnership and renewed focus on supporting early care and education professionals as brain builders through Vroom.

Vroom is a global initiative that empowers parents and caregivers, including early care and education professionals, to boost children’s early learning and development through science-based tips and activities.  Vroom encourages families and caregivers to use routine interactions, like bath time and grocery shopping, to engage with children, strengthening their brain architecture and helping ensure children have a strong foundation for lifelong learning.  Vroom reaches families by working with trusted nonprofits, brand and media companies, and technology—including a mobile app, Vroom by Text, and an Alexa Skill.  All materials are free of cost, simple enough to fit into parents’ daily routines, and available right at their fingertips.
This expanded partnership will provide opportunities for deeper integration of advancements in brain science within Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies and with child care providers, and increase the reach of Vroom to families.  CCAoA will manage two successive application processes and select two cohorts of ten CCR&R Vroom ambassadors who will strategically embed Vroom into their local family and community outreach services.

The end of summer is a busy time for families seeking child care. This video describes what families and child care resource and referral (CCR&R) professionals, from around the nation, have to say about child care assistance available in your community.