COVID-19 has changed the day-to-day lives of many families with babies and young children. Some parents are seeking ideas for additional ways to interact with their children because they are now working from home or spending more time at home because of social distancing. On the other hand, some parents may have less time with their children because they are working on the front lines of the pandemic: health care professionals, emergency responders or other workers in essential businesses or services. For all families, everyday routines such as mealtime, playtime or bedtime – or even diaper changing – offer opportunities to connect with children and build their developing brains. Vroom^®, a global early childhood initiative, offers free tips to parents on how to add learning to daily routines.

Updated March 27, 12:50 p.m.

With all the news and updates around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), it can be difficult to grasp the proposals put forward by Congress. Below you will find a summary of each proposal passed or under consideration so far:  

It’s official: beginning March 12, households nationwide will begin receiving invitations to participate in the 2020 Decennial Census. With the count now underway in all 50 states, find out what you can do to help ensure children age 4 and under are properly counted in this month’s edition of our Census Series:  

Even though the 2020 Census already began in some parts of the country, we are one month away from  households nationwide receiving official Census Bureau invitations to participate. To help ensure that children age four and under are properly counted, we've compiled news updates from the month of February and the latest resources that will help you prepare: 

In response to the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, Child Care Aware^® of America (CCAoA) Executive Director Dr. Lynette M. Fraga released the following statement:

 “The President’s FY 2021 Budget falls well short of meeting families’ needs. The proposal lacks the robust, long-term investment the child care system needs to ensure our children thrive. In addition, the very same families who struggle to access child care, are hit hard by the proposed Budget’s plans to cut or weaken the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and other critical safety net programs.

The process of searching for child care is undeniably one of the most difficult processes for families with young children to navigate. Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies play a critical role in partnering with families to ensure they have information to make the right child care choice for their family. We are excited to share with you a newly refreshed suite of on-the-go child care information brochures that you can use to bolster your own consumer education offerings.