About Child Care Aware® of America
Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) is the only national organization that supports every part of the child care system. Together with an on-the-ground network of child care resource organizations working in states and communities, CCAoA provides research that drives effective practice and policy, builds strong child care programs and professionals, helps families find and afford quality child care, delivers expertise and partnership to the military and direct service to its families, works with employers on child care solutions, and provides a real-world understanding of what works and what doesn’t to spur policymakers into action and help them build solutions.
Together we make America child care strong—and that makes everyone stronger.
- How we make a difference
America has a broken and inequitable child care system that is holding us back and hurting everyone—children, families, child care providers, communities, employers, and our military.
America needs:
- Affordable, quality child care that meets the needs of working and military families.
- A strong network across the country helping families find and afford quality child care while building the supply of sustainable child care programs with skilled teachers.
- Research, field-level intelligence, and analysis that is actionable.
- Public policy and funding that recognizes child care as essential to the nation.
We galvanize solutions through:
- A network that builds a quality system and helps families find and afford child care—with direct service to military families.
- Research that drives effective practice and policy.
- Advocacy that spurs policymakers to act and build solutions.
So that:
All families have access to affordable, quality child care that makes children, child care professionals, employers, the military, and our nation stronger.
- Our Vision
Every family in the United States has access to a high-quality, affordable child care system. The child care system supports children’s growth, development, and educational advancement and creates a positive economic impact for families and communities.
- Our Mission
Together with our on-the-ground network of child care resource organizations, we advance a child care system that effectively serves all children and families.
- Our Guiding Principles
- Purposeful partners. We put people and relationships first, look for ways to add value, and do what we say.
- Courageously capable. We hold ourselves and each other capable of getting hard things done and give and share power, information, grace, and credit freely.
- Change seekers and makers. We challenge current assumptions, believe real change is possible, and champion progress happening across America toward an equitable, high-quality child care system.
- One team, many stories. We value our diverse perspectives and are a united force toward our shared mission.
- Download Child Care Aware of America’s Guiding Principles
- Our 2023-2026 Strategic Plan
Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) is at a critical inflection point where the organization seeks to strategically position itself in the wake of multiple social, economic and health crises that upended the lives of children and families across the country. Given this important moment, CCAoA
has engaged in a transformative strategic planning process, leading the field forward and continuing to center diversity, equity and inclusion in its work.
- Our Annual Report
The 2023 annual report demonstrates the essential role CCAoA plays in making America child care
strong. Together with our national partners and network across the country, we increased public funding for child care so more families could afford quality child care, recruited more advocates to take action, helped military families find and afford child care, provided actionable research that positioned us as a go-to source for media and policymakers, strengthened child care programs and supported teachers in building their skills, and grew our network.
