[AccessD] String to Date

Given a string of the form "2012/12/26", how can I turn it into a date? I
want to test whether the given date-string falls within the range of a pair
of actual dates. Is there a StrToDate() function or some equivalent? If
need be, it won't take long to write one, but I before I begin I want to
make sure I'm not reinventing something built-in or readily available.

TIA,
Arthur