May 16, 2013

Keeping Children Safe and Helping Families Find Quality Child Care
-by Shannon Rudisill, Office of Child Care Director

As a working mom, I know how hard it is to find good child care so that I can have some peace of mind when I come  to work.   At ACF, we’ve been working hard to strengthen the nation’s child care system so that  moms and dads, especially moms and dads with the fewest resources,  can have better child care choices while they work to support their families.

In his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama made a historic commitment to young children, making it a priority to ensure that “none of our children start the race of life already behind.”  Improving child care is an important part of this effort and a key component of the President’s Plan for Early Education for All Americans.

Today, HHS announces a big new step in this direction –  new proposed regulations for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which is administered here at the Office of Child Care. CCDF supports 1.6 million children in child care each month and invests over $1 billion each year in quality improvements like teacher training and grants to child care programs. All over the country, child care providers are dedicated to preparing children for school success. Despite the terrific efforts of public and private organizations around the country, there are some critical gaps in our child care programs. Some children are in child care settings that don’t meet basic health and safety standards. Often, there is a lack of useful comparative information for parents choosing child care. The new regulations are intended to close some of those gaps…

Source: Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/news/acf-announces-proposed-changes-to-child-care-regulations