Earlier this week, the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan (R-WI), unveiled his much anticipated anti-poverty plan. The proposal, titled “A Better Way,” addresses federal programs that assist low-income families including TANF, SNAP, and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. In addition, the plan includes ideas on expanding access to 401(k)s for small businesses, and promoting access to affordable retirement advice.

Read Bianca’s story to learn more about our series and how you can help Child Care Aware® of America ensure that every family in America has access to high-quality, affordable child care.

The importance of high-quality, affordable child care affects everyone. Child Care Aware^® of America is pleased to share with you our fourth story in Faces of Child Care, an eight-week series of stories from individuals of various walks of life who are affected by child care.

We used to have a perspective on child care that it was just Play-doh and crayons. Now we know that the experiences children have in early life are helping to form how their brains develop. As a nation we can do better, and there is a real urgency to invest in the lives of children. Investment isn’t a choice, rather a necessity for current and future generations.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) requires that states develop consumer education information for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) parents, providers, and the general public on the following topics:

In the beginning, I kept saying “babies are for young people. I’m not as energetic as I used to be.” I couldn’t imagine being the child care provider of an infant at my age, but with the cost of quality child care being so high and my daughter starting a new job shortly after giving birth, I knew it was for the best that my husband and I care for Kai, just for a short while, until she could find a long-term solution.