Do you believe all families should have access to affordable, high-quality child care? Are you a federal employee or member of the military? Do you know anyone who fits this description? Then you still have two months to select Child Care Aware^® of America as your CFC charity of choice!

Child Care Aware^® of America has been awarded three MarCom Awards as part of a 2016 creative competition for marketing and communications professionals.

• Platinum Award: Child Care Aware^® of America 2016-2017 Calendar
• Gold Award: Child Care Works website
• Gold Award: Child Care Aware^® of America Annual Report

Child Care Aware^® of America was selected as a winner from more than 300 categories of print, web, video, and strategic communications.

Arlington, VA – Overall, boys of color (primarily African Americans, Hispanics, and American Indians/Alaska Natives) face structural obstacles that stack the odds against their success in school and in life. They are more likely to grow up in low-income households, and less likely to attend high-quality schools, starting in very early childhood.

Over 1.3 million fires were reported in the United States last year. Fires have a significant impact on children, parents and child care providers. On average, every day 293 children are injured and at least one child dies from fire. Each year approximately 325 fires occur in child care centers. As we focus on fire prevention in October, we begin with one simple question - are you prepared?

The intended purpose of early education is to help close the school achievement gap by promoting equitable access to the school readiness opportunities afforded by high quality early education. Access means affording all our children the opportunity to enter through the front door of early education, and it also means keeping them from being pushed out the back door.
– Dr. Walter Gilliam, Child Care Aware® of America Board member

Last month, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published the final rule for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) based on the 2014 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG). This final rule updates CCDF regulations for the first time since 1998.