The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education approved its FY 2019 appropriations bill that includes proposed funding levels for child care and other early childhood programs. The Subcommittee includes $5.2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which is the same level as FY 2018.  While this is good news, and upholds the two-year congressional budget agreement from earlier this year, far more is needed in order to meet the child care need in the United States.

The Problem 

CCHCs are health professionals who also are knowledgeable about child health, child development and health and safety in child care. But their training may not have equipped them with some skills (e.g., communicating effectively with programs) that are essential to their work.  

Nurturing a Love for Reading

Nurturing a love for reading and writing is a role that parents can play in their children's lives. Success in school and later careers depends on having good reading and writing skills. These days we constantly hear about the importance of literacy. What does literacy mean? It's the ability to read and write.

Child Care Aware^® of America is rolling out a new informative series that illuminates exemplary family and community engagement practices. The Family and Community Engagement: Promising Practices Spotlight Series highlights and celebrates innovative, high-quality family and community engagement programs occurring in a range of early childhood settings. We hope this series will not only introduce you to successful initiatives making an impact in communities across the nation, but that it will inspire you as child care resources and referral staff (CCR&Rs), child care providers and other early childhood leaders as you advance your work with families and communities.

Kicking off the Spotlight Series:  The first spotlight in our series shines on, Apoyando Familias, Aprendiendo Juntos (Supporting Families, Learning Together), a radio show that connects weekly with Spanish-speaking families and caregivers. The program is a product of Wisconsin’s statewide network CCR&R, Supporting Families Together Association. This program demonstrates how organizations can leverage media outreach to create meaningful dialogue with and meet the needs of diverse families with young children and their communities.