In September, the House and Senate reached a bipartisan agreement on a bill reauthorizing the Child Care and Development Block Grant and the House voted to approve it. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the measure on November 13 when they return from the recess. The bill, which would reauthorize the primary federal child care program for the first time since 1996, is aimed at ensuring the health and safety of children in child care, facilitating families' access to child care assistance, and improving the quality of child care for children, and for infants and toddlers in particular. (author abstract)