January has certainly gotten 2016 off to a running start! Child Care Aware® of America staff have been working in Arlington and across the country to launch new initiatives, educate and advocate on behalf of the child care community, and support the field.

We’re proud of the work we’ve accomplished already in January, and I think this is just the beginning of an exciting and productive year for Child Care Aware® of America!

Child Care Aware® of America has a lot of great sessions, discussions, and events lined up for you at Symposium 2016 in April. We’re working hard to put together a program that includes opportunities to learn from and interact with your peers, speak with policymakers about the best ways to affect real change, and learn from experts on data, legislation, and resources for the field.

We’re finally feeling winter’s chill here in Arlington, Virginia, so it’s as good a time as any to sit down and recap everything we were able to accomplish in December!

ARLINGTON, VA - Child Care Aware ® of America, the nation’s leading voice for child care will host its largest gathering of child care experts, including leaders from Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies, early educators, child care providers, parents, researchers, funders and partners at Symposium 2016, taking place April 4 - 6, 2016 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. This three-day event will focus on the latest child care and early education policies, as well as research, practice and innovative approaches for child care that are shaping how families access quality child care.

Early childhood education (ECE) is in the spotlight as never before. Being in the limelight, however, has highlighted the field’s fragmentation and the variability in the quality of children’s formal early learning experiences. This reality is unlikely to change, though, unless the ECE field comes to terms with its lack of organization as a unified field of practice with defined accountabilities for a competent and responsible workforce.

Parents and real families are a powerful voice for children and child care. Many of our parent and family advocates have participated at past Symposiums, sharing their stories with Members of Congress and strengthening their advocacy skills through workshops and training. This year we decided to do things a little differently and hold another kind of event, separate from Symposium, fully focused on families and amplifying their messages. If you weren't able to participate, here’s a quick run-down of the two-day Summit.