In May, Child Care Aware^® of America (CCAoA) will begin piloting the Family Voices, Quality Choices resource suite—a collection of child care consumer information and outreach materials—at two Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies for a period of four months. Child Care Services Association in North Carolina and Child Care Aware^® of Kansas have partnered with CCAoA to feature these materials in their consumer engagement efforts.

Every week in the United States, nearly 11 million children younger than age five are in some type of child care arrangement. While all families with young children benefit from an awareness and knowledge of high-quality, affordable child care options that match their need for safe, healthy, and developmentally appropriate care, children from economically challenged and diverse families benefit even more monumentally from a high-quality child care environment. There are, however, many barriers for low-income and otherwise vulnerable families accessing care including preventable barriers such as the lack of knowledge of early care options.

On August 8, 2016, Child Care Aware^® of America formerly launched a Child Care Information Poll. The poll generated 255 responses from parents around the nation. We would like to thank all who participated in and shared this poll. We also congratulate the winner of the $50 gift card drawing, awarded to a parent located in Tampa, Florida.

Child Care Aware^® of America collected responses from households of various sizes, income and education levels. Overall, 88% of respondents have children under five years of age.

Arlington, Va. – Child Care Aware® of Minnesota was recently awarded the Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies as Resilience Hubs grant. Grant funding from Child Care Aware® of America will support a new project designed to strengthen emergency preparedness efforts for children, parents, and child care providers, and to enhance coordination with first responder and disaster response organizations.

Flooding is one of the leading causes of severe weather related deaths. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, floods kill more people each year than tornadoes, hurricanes or lightning. Flooding causes an average of $5 billion a year in damage, making it the most costly severe weather event.

Child care providers—regardless of whether you refer to them as early childhood professionals, educators, or teachers—play a vital role in the early education and care of children. This is especially important given that the early years of a child’s life are the most critical for development. We know that children who receive high-quality child care benefit long-term from these early learning experiences. However, despite the importance of high-quality child care, child care providers earn less per hour than many other professionals within the personal care industry.