Last week, the Department of Labor announced a new $25 million grant program to support job training and access to quality child care.

Today, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published the much anticipated proposed rule-making on the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).

This proposed rule will make changes to CCDF in order to comply with the 2014 CCDBG law. ACF is seeking comments from the public through February 24.

Late last night, House Speaker, Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced that a deal was reached on the FY 2016 budget and unveiled a $1.15 trillion spending bill that would fund the government thru September 30, 2016. This bi-partisan bill includes very favorable funding levels for programs that support low-income children and their families and early education, including:

This morning, President Obama signed S. 1177 (Conference Report H 114-354), the “Every Student Succeeds Act,” into law at a bi-partisan ceremony at the White House. The President was joined by Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, along with Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA), the senior leaders on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, as well as Congressmen John Kline (R-MN) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) from the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and other key congressional members and advocates.

Arlington, VA – The 2015 Parents and the High Cost of Child Care report released today by Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) shows a continued trend of child care costs that put a strain on families, rivaling what the average family pays for one year of college tuition at a four year institution.  Further, the cost of full-time, center-based care for two children is the highest single household expense in most parts of the country.

Eleven million children younger than age five are in some form of child care in the United States. That is a pretty staggering number when you consider the cost of child care in this country – on both the family and provider sides of the equation.