BREAKING: President Obama Signs CCDBG Reauthorization Bill into Law

[Lynette Fraga, Child Care Aware of America]

Today, flanked by Senators and Representatives from both sides of the 
aisle, President Obama put pen to paper and signed S.1086, the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 into law. After 18 years 
without any Congressional action, the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant was finally reauthorized and revised to include general 
provisions to improve the quality of child care nationwide. 
“Child Care Aware® of America (formerly NACCRRA) has 
been advocating for many of these changes to the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant program for almost two decades,” said 
Lynette Fraga, Executive Director at Child Care Aware® of 
America. “For far too long, this program lacked key 
protections for children and families receiving federal assistance for 
child care, but now, with this bill becoming law, the quality needle 
has finally moved to ensure that children are in a safe setting, that 
promotes their learning and healthy development.” The 
legislation most recently passed the United States Senate by a vote of 
88-1 on Monday, November 17, 2014 following a multi-year process taking 
the bill through both the Senate and the House of Representatives. 
Originally introduced in June 2013 by Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), 
Richard Burr (R-NC), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Tom Harkin (D-IA), 
S.1086, then titled the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
2013, was a bill that would reauthorize the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant program for the first time in almost two decades, while 
including some baseline safety and quality measures. S.1086 includes 
measures to:Promote quality child care by increasing state-level 
investments in activities to improve the quality of care, enhancing 
states’ ability to train providers and develop safer and more 
effective child care services.Strengthen health and safety requirements 
in child care programs and providers.Improve access to child care by 
expanding eligibility for participating families and helping families 
connect with quality programs that meet their needs In the years since 
the last reauthorization of the program as part of welfare reform in 
1996, we've learned that many states have lacked basic measures to 
protect families and children and this bill goes a long way to ensuring 
providers that accept federal funds meet some basic requirements, like 
background checks, training, and inspections. Learn more about the 
Child Care and Development Block Grant In the upcoming months, stay 
tuned to Child Care Aware® of America for the latest resources 
providing summaries, implications, and analysis of the various 
components of this law and what it means for you. My best,Lynette 
Fraga, Ph.D.
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