Washington, D.C. – Thanks to a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) will expand its technical assistance activities in targeted states emphasizing health, nutrition, and obesity prevention, key components of Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) implementation. This two-year grant will leverage this unique opportunity to work with 6 – 8 states to integrate healthy eating, nutrition, and obesity prevention best practices in their state plans and priorities. To accomplish this, CCAoA will partner with and provide tools, resources, and on-site training and technical assistance to Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies and their community-based partners in early care and education focused on moving the needle on healthy communities. Ultimately, this grant will encourage states to incorporate health and nutrition as key components of quality child care.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently reviewing proposed rule updates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP): Meal Pattern Revisions Related to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The CACFP is a federal program serving more than 3 million children in child care, Head Start and after school programs across the country. USDA hopes to update the CACFP program to be consistent with the national school lunch program, WIC and other food assistance programs administered by the agency.

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation that would extend child care and early child development programs that support millions of families.

Earlier this week, the House and Senate Budget Committees approved their FY 2016 budget resolutions, and both proposed very deep cuts for many non-defense programs over the next ten years, including ones that millions of children and families depend on.

Help Child Care Aware® of America support the movement to declare a National Child and Adult Care Food Programs Week (CACFP) in 2015, to help bring awareness to the USDA’s program for adult and child nutrition!

When an email from the White House came into my inbox, I paid attention!  That’s the situation I found myself in, in mid-January. I was delighted to find that Child Care Aware® of Kansas was being offered two tickets to attend the President’s Remarks at the University of Kansas. It really didn't take me more than two minutes to look at my calendar and send a quick response back to the White House, stating Absolutely! Much to my surprise, on Wednesday (the day before the President’s visit) we were offered another seven tickets!  Of course I said we’d take them. Within a matter of one hour, I called the CCR&Rs in Kansas, two child care center directors and one high school teacher to extend the offer.  All seven people immediately said “YES”!