“Children Learning, Parents Earning, Communities Growing"

Federal & Child Care and Development Fund State Plan

Topics on this page (click to be directed):

  • Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Resources and Updates Overview: The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), also called the Child Care and Development Fund, is the primary source of United States federal funding for child care subsidies for low-income working families and funds to improve child care quality.
    Congress Approves $260 Million Funding Increase for Federal Early Childhood Programs
  • Child Care and Development Fund State Plan Overview: The purpose of the CCDF is to increase the availability, affordability, and quality of child care services. States and territories receiving CCDF funds must prepare and submit to the federal government a plan detailing how these funds will be allocated and expended. California is currently in process of submitting its State Plan to the Federal Government for Fiscal Years 2019 -2021.
  • Federal Legislation of Significance Overview: This section notes significant pieces of federal legislation relevant to the field of child care and early education. 
    • Child Care Aware of America CAPITOL HILL: House Committee Releases Draft TANF Reauthorization
  • Federal Updates from Partners Overview: This section highlights recent reports and research conducted by our Federal Advocacy Partners. 
    • NEW!  Child Care Advocates Applaud  Reintroduction of Child Care for Working Families Act

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CCDBG Resources and Updates

Congress Approves $260 Million Funding Increase for Federal Early Childhood Programs

Washington, D.C. - In a critical bipartisan House vote, Congress has approved a FY2019 "minibus" appropriations package that includes $260 million in increases to the federal early childhood education programs. Notably, in addition to a $200 million increase to funding for Head Start and Early Head Start, lawmakers voted to increase funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program by $50 million, building on the historic $2.37 billion increase the program received in FY2018 through a bipartisan deal made by House and Senate leaders.

The funding package approved today, which also includes FY2019 funding for the Department of Defense, as well as a short-term Continuing Resolution to fund the rest of the government through December 7, 2018, was overwhelmingly approved in a 361-61 vote, and now awaits the president's signature.

"Congress has again prioritized the care and education of America's young children, building on years of bipartisan progress and commitment from lawmakers," said First Five Years Fund (FFYF) Executive Director Sarah Rittling. "The funding levels included in this bill will support greater access to, and the quality of early childhood education programs that are proven to support children's healthy development and prepare them for a lifetime of achievement. We are grateful to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House & Senate for their unwavering support for children from birth through age five."

Earlier this month, a Congressional Conference committee made up of bipartisan representatives from the House and Senate reached agreement on this funding "minibus" package, after negotiating appropriations legislation from the House and Senate.

Take a look at the final FY2019 funding numbers as approved today:

Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)-$5.3 billion - $50 million above FY2018

Early Head Start / Head Start-$10.1 billion - $200 million above FY2018

Preschool Development Grants-$250 million - Level with FY2018

Child Care Means Parents in School-$50 million - Level with FY2018

IDEA Part B Preschool Grants-$391.12 million - $10 million above FY2018

IDEA Part C Grants for Infants and Families -$470 million - Level with FY2018

Research shows high-quality early learning and care from birth through age five benefits the academic, social, and emotional skills of children later in life and contributes to improved long-term societal outcomes. The high-quality early childhood education programs included in today's appropriations package play a critical role in ensuring that all children, regardless of where they start in life, have the opportunity to build a foundation for lifelong success.

FFYF is committed to working with stakeholders in the coming months to build upon the robust federal support for early childhood education programs so that all children can access high-quality opportunities that help them reach their full potential.

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Reauthorization Resources

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Child Care and Development State Fund State Plan

The federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is an aggregate of several funding sources that is distributed in block grants by the federal government to the states and territories. The majority of the funds are to be used to provide child care services to families who meet certain income and need criteria. A portion of the funding is to be used for activities to improve the quality of child care. Another portion is to be used to pay for costs of administering the CCDF.

The purpose of the CCDF is to increase the availability, affordability, and quality of child care services. States and territories receiving CCDF funds must prepare and submit to the federal government a plan detailing how these funds will be allocated and expended. 

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April 1, 2018 was the most recent deadline for public testimony for CCDF State Plan Fiscal Year (FY) 2019–21. The submission deadline for the final CCDF State Plan Fiscal Year (FY) 2019–21 is June 30, 2018 to the federal government. A proposed timeline of this process can be found at the CDE CCDF State Plan Timeline Web page.

CLICK HERE TO SEE CAPPA'S INPUT LETTER for fiscal year 2019 -2021. 

Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2019-21

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Federal Fiscal Years (FFY) 2016-18

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Federal Legislation of Relevance  

June 11, 2018

House TANF Bill Makes Small Improvements, But No New Funding to Support Them

By Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Renato Rocha

Last week the House Committee on Ways and Means passed H.R. 5862, a TANF reauthorization bill, with no Democratic support. However, members of both parties have expressed a shared understanding that TANF isn't providing participants the education, training, and supportive services needed to find-and keep-good jobs that enable them to meet their families' needs.  Read more.

June 4, 2018

Child Care Aware of America
CAPITOL HILL: House Committee Releases Draft TANF Reauthorization

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee published draft legislation that would reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, including making significant changes to child care entitlement spending by states.

In its current version, the legislation proposes raising the cap by allowing states to transfer up 50% of TANF funds to CCDF. However, it would prohibit these funds from being spent on child care activities.  While CCAoA supports giving states more flexibility on child care investment, we fear that this proposal could negatively affect families and communities who depend on this support.

Child Care Aware® of America provided comments on the draft bill to the Committee that you can review here . The official introduction and consideration of the bill may happen soon. 

As of now, there is no Senate companion legislation.

May 7, 2018

On the Hill

Get Ready for Farm Bill Floor Fight: On April 18, the House Agriculture Committee reported out a Farm Bill, H.R.2 (pdf), that could see a House floor vote as soon as mid-May.  This bill would take food out of the refrigerators and off the kitchen tables of more than 1 million households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), leading to significantly greater hunger and poverty. Meanwhile,the Senate Agriculture Committee is currently drafting its version of the Farm Bill, which is expected this spring.

Now is the Time to Act 
Members of the House and Senate will be heading home for a one-week recess from Monday, April 30, through Friday, May 4, creating an opportune time for advocates to engage with Members of Congress. See  FRAC Legislative Action Center for actions you can take during the recess to urge your representatives to vote "No" on any Farm Bill that cuts SNAP.

Additional: Click here to read letter submitted from California anti-hunger community to California Members of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture

November 6, 2017

With the state legislature on Interim recess, our attention and focus has turned to the federal government. Of particular interest is the Child Care for Working Families Act, introduced by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate education committee. This bill aims to be a comprehensive early learning and child care bill with the goal of increasing access and affordable, high-quality child care for working families across the country. 

The bill, S. 1806, was introduced on 9/14/17 and has been referred to Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, where it is currently at in the legislative process.

As highlighted in Senator Murray's press release, the main tenants of the bill are as follows:

  • Establish a new federal-state partnership based on Medicaid to provide high-quality, affordable child care from birth through age 13;
  • More than double the universe of children eligible for child care assistance, and increase the number of children who could receive such assistance by more than 13 times the current amount;   
  • Provide incentives and funding for states to create high-quality preschool programs for low- and moderate-income 3- and 4-year olds during the school day, while providing a higher matching rate for programs for infants and toddlers, who are often harder and more expensive to care for
  • Increase workforce training and compensation, including by ensuring that all child care workers are paid a living wage and early childhood educators are provided parity with elementary school teachers with similar credentials and experience;
  • Improve care in a variety of settings, including addressing the needs of family, friend, and neighbor care and care during nontraditional hours to help meet the needs of working families;
  • Build more inclusive, high-quality child care providers for children with disabilities, and infants and toddlers with disabilities, including by increased funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
  • Help all Head Start programs meet the new expanded duration requirements and provide full-day, full-year programming.

Text for the bill can be found by clicking HERE.

A fact sheet can be found HERE.

A press release can be found HERE.

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Federal Updates from Partners

March 18, 2019

A One-time Child Care "Investment" Won't Support Working Families

Set in the context of a budget proposal that disinvests in nearly all programsthat make a difference for children and families, the Trump budget attempts to show "support" for working families with a one-time child care investment of $1 billion over 5 years, but we are not fooled. A quick look at the details makes clear how little this would actually do to support working families or provide child care for children and families with low incomes.

If this proposal were approved, states would access the funds through a competition-but would only be eligible to receive funding if they remove "unnecessary regulations." Removing these regulations could threaten the basic protections that keep children safe and eliminate standards that are the building blocks of high-quality child care.

If the Trump Administration and Congress truly want to help working families and their children succeed, they should start by investing more in the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which is the foundational funding states rely on to help families pay for child care. But the president's proposal flat funds CCDBG and does not address the significant unmet need for child care among working families and, in fact, would cause the program to reduce the number of children it serves as the result of inflation costs. 

Click here to be directed to the full article.


March 11, 2019
Submit a Comment on SNAP Changes by April 2!

SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a proven anti-hunger, anti-poverty program that helps young children and their parents, working adults, disabled individuals, and the elderly gain access to healthy food. 

Currently, the federal government is seeking comments on a proposed rule that would drastically change the work requirements for SNAP and make it harder for people to access the program. The destabilizing effect of this proposed rule could harm over 750,000 people and cut $15 billion from SNAP.

We are calling on CCR&Rs and advocates to submit a comment to this proposed rule, telling the federal government you oppose this harmful change in policy. 

STEP 1: Download template and edit with your own personal message and/or story. 

Template for CCR&Rs

Template for Advocates

STEP 2: Upload your comments to the Regulations.gov site by April 2 at 11:59 pm EST.

Submit comments here.

(If you have trouble downloading the templates,send an email and we will make sure you can access them in a different format.)

Comments are due April 2, 2019 and we strongly encourage you write to the USDA with your thoughts. 

Thanks for all you do for children and families!

Chrisi West

Director of Advocacy  



March 4, 2019
Child Care in State Economics - 2019 Update- Committee for Economic Development

Provides an update to CED's original report from 2015 to reflect the most currently available data. The 2019 Update examines the child care industry's effect on parents' participation in the labor force, and provides extensive details regarding the industry's impact on 

regional economic growth and development, including: usage rates, the role of public funding, revenues, and business structure. The report was commissioned by the Committee for Economic Development, produced by the economic firm, Region Track, Inc., and generously supported by the Alliance for Early Success.

Link to the website and more fact sheets


March 4, 2019

Child Care Advocates Applaud  Reintroduction of Child Care for Working Families Act - Child Care Aware of America, Jay Nichols; February 26, 2019

"Earlier today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the "Child Care for Working Families Act of 2019" on Capitol Hill.  At the press conference, Senator Murray was joined by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Bob Casey (D-PA), as well as several parent advocates. The legislation is nearly identical to the 2017 version.

Child care plays an important role in the U.S. economy, helping to generate 15 million jobs and more than $500 billion in income annually. Families need child care so they can work, and children need a safe place where they can learn and continue their healthy development. Unfortunately, far too many low-income families do not have access to high-quality care, or cannot afford it. Over the past decade, the cost of child care has remained high, which has forced families to make the difficult decision of trying to afford putting their child in child care or leaving the workforce altogether.

On average, millions of working families pay more for child care than they would for a mortgage/rent, transportation needs, or food every month. The Child Care for Working Families Act would ensure low-income families pay no more than seven percent of their annual income on child care, help young children gain access to preschool, and for the child care workforce.

Child Care Aware® of America proudly endorses this legislation and encourages all members of Congress to support this bill. Contact your members of Congress and ask them to sponsor this legislation, or thank them for their current support."

TAKE ACTION Contact Your Congressmember!

Link to article.



February 4, 2019

The Importance of Investing in the Child Care and Development Block Grant- Women's Law Center

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the major federal child care program, was enacted in 1990 in response to women's growing participation in the workforce and the struggle of these working women to find affordable, high-quality child care. Congress approved a $2.37 billion increase in March 2018. The new federal funds are essential to help address existing gaps in the child care assistance program. Only one in six children eligible for federal child care receives it. And only one state set its provider payment rates at the federally recommended level of February 2018.

Click here to download.

January 28, 2019

New Report Shows Nonstandard Hours of Work Cause More Obstacles For Families and Children- Child Care Aware of America

 Working Parents Need More Than "Day" Care

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) released its Nonstandard Hours (NSH) Paper: "It's About Time! Parents Who Work Nonstandard Hours Face Child Care Challenges,"  which found that the inadequate supply of NSH child care is problematic and raises concerns about access to safe, affordable, and quality child care for many families in our country. In today's economy, where anyone can work 24/7, many parents struggle to find reliable, affordable NSH child care. NHS is defined as hours worked outside the traditional Monday through Friday work week. By 2020, occupations requiring nonstandard schedules are projected to see the most employment growth.

In the 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation, 43 percent of all children under 18 in the United States have at least one parent who works NSH. This translates to about 31 million children who may need NSH care. Child care during nonstandard working hours is extremely limited when available and often, unlicensed.

With a declining child care provider market, it's even harder to find NSH care. Many parents turn to a collection of center-based child care, home-based child care, and child care provided by family, friends, and neighbors. Lack of access to a consistent caregiver puts a strain on both parents and children in a number of ways and this report highlights that.

Report Highlights

  • Our Mapping the Gap efforts with the state of Massachusetts. We focused on NSH - specifically, the current supply of child care providers around the sites of two proposed casinos and one existing casino.
  • Factors that affect the likelihood of needing NSH care including poverty, lack of paid leave, and irregular work schedules.
  • More than one in four Americans with low incomes work a nonstandard hours job.
  • Few states have regulations focused on NSH of care, especially for family child care. Realistic regulations for care during NSH could help to further expand licensed care.

CCAoA works with state Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies to track the cost of care for children by age and setting, then compares each state's costs to its median income, ranking the states by affordability for each category of care. CCAoA's  interactive mapshows the relationship between costs and median income by state. The organization has also partnered with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) to add this year's data to an  online interactive calculatorof child care expenses by area.

Congress recently justified the more than $2.3 billion increase to the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) saying, "...the department should work with states to ensure they are meeting the needs of families with nontraditional work hours." However, more research needs to be done to determine the best practices for programs operating during nights and weekends in order to determine what those standards need to look like.

States, communities and businesses are implementing innovative solutions to meet the NSH child care needs of their employees and of military families. Located in 47 states with touch points at the local, state and national levels, CCR&Rs are a vital resource for families, child care professionals, businesses and community stakeholders. CCR&Rs can connect families to child care providers offering care during evenings and weekends, and can be instrumental in recruiting, retaining and providing outreach to qualified providers to build the supply of NSH care in their communities.

To read and download 2018's The US and the High Cost of Child Care and supplemental interactive map and fact sheets,


January 14, 2019

If the government shutdown continues into February, there may not be sufficient funding for food assistance for SNAP to provide full benefits for that month. The problem only gets worse if the shutdown continues into March.

As a result, millions of low-income households - including millions of poor children, parents, elderly people, and people with disabilities - could have their basic food assistance cut back substantially next month and then virtually eliminated altogether in March if the shutdown continues.

The President stated several days ago that the shutdown could go on for months or even years.  

What will happen in coming weeks with respect to SNAP thus is cause for very substantial concern.

Read the report.

November 26, 2018

Public Charge Early Childhood Template for Public Comments

Our friends at CLASP have put together some very helpful resources for all of us to participate and send our comments during the public charge open comment period. Submitting organizational and individual comments is crucial as its a way to make our voices heard and make it clear that immigrant children and their families could be greatly affected if this proposed rule is finalized.

More background and action items: 

On October 10, the long-anticipated "public charge" proposed rule was published in the federal register for a 60-day comment period. The rule proposes to expand the forms of public assistance that are counted in a "public charge" determination, which may be used to deny individuals entrance to the United States or lawful permanent residency.  It establishes standards for income, health, age, and English language proficiency for immigrant families seeking long-term stability. If enacted, the rule would make immigrant families afraid to seek programs-such as Medicaid and SNAP-that keep children and families healthy and fundamentally change who we are as a nation.

This proposal will have a major impact on millions of young children in immigrant families.

Please find attached template comments written especially for the early childhood field. We ask that you modify these comments to reflect your unique perspective or expertise and have included prompts in the template for you to do that. The  Protecting Immigrant Families campaign is using a sector-based strategy for generating a large number of unique comments in opposition to this rule. Template comments are being written from the perspective of 40+ different sectors. If you receive more than one template for commenting, we encourage you to use the template or sections of the templates that are most relevant to your expertise or perspective. By law, every unique comment must be read and considered by the federal government. Public comments must be submitted to the federal register by December 10th.

For more information:


October 1, 2018

Last weekend, the Trump Administration announced a very harmful draft proposal that would change the definition of a "public charge" in an effort to support its ongoing and extreme overhaul of U.S. immigration policy.   

A "public charge" is a policy implemented by the federal government to identify people who may depend on benefits (TANF, Supplemental Security Income, long-term care) to support themselves and their families. The social safety net and programs like these support the wellbeing of families and communities. Under current policy, the United States can deny an immigrant/refugee admission to the country, or refuse an application for residency, if it's determined that the person(s) would be a public charge.

The Administration's proposal would considerably expand the public charge definition, putting millions of families at risk by forcing them to forgo any public assistance in an effort to remain in the country. This proposed rule would target many programs that help low-income families, including:

*    Non-emergency Medicaid

*    Subsidies provided through the Affordable Care Act

*    Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

*    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

*    Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

*    Housing assistance such as Section 8 vouchers, and

*    State and local assistance programs

In addition, the Administration is considering adding the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to the list of benefits. 

This rule would impact the lives of millions of children and families who not only rely on the programs listed above but also those who depend on child care assistance and other critical education and health programs. In fact, many immigrant families have already disenrolled from these programs even though current U.S. public charge policy still remains.
 
The Administration is expected to officially publish this proposal soon and will seek comments for 60 days after its release, and we strongly encourage you to respond. In addition, Child Care Aware® of America is working closely with the National Immigration Law Center and CLASP and you can access  key resources here. Also, we strongly urge you to join the webinar both organizations are hosting on  October 3 or October 17. Both are scheduled for 1:00 pm EST. 

Please continue to follow Child Care Aware® of America for further updates, and feel free to contact us with questions. You can read Child Care Aware of America's official statement here .  

 

October 1, 2018

New data out today from the U.S. Census Bureau show that progress for low-income Americans came to a near halt during the first year of the Trump Administration, in sharp contrast to previous years of progress. In 2017, the poverty rate fell slightly to 12.3 percent and the number of people in poverty was statistically unchanged from 2016, compared to the substantial decline in poverty in the previous two years (from 14.8
percent in 2014 to 13.5 percent in 2015 and 12.7 percent in 2016). While median household income rose for all households-at a far lower rate than in previous years-the improvement was concentrated among those in the top half of incomes

 Click here to read the full article.

October 1, 2018

After several years of lower poverty rates, higher income, and broader health coverage, gains slowed - and in some cases stalled - in the states in 2017, new Census data show. For example, fewer states reduced their share of people below the federal poverty line (about $25,000 for a family of four), according to new state data from the American Community Survey. Because policy decisions affect whether people get a real shot at economic opportunity and communities thrive, states should do what they can to reverse the decline in progress.

Today's data show that:

  • Poverty fell in 21 states in 2017 and rose in two (Delaware and West Virginia), compared to 2016 when it fell in 25 states and rose in just one.
  • Child poverty, in particular, fell in 16 states in 2017, compared with 23 in 2016. It rose in one state, New Hampshire. (See chart.)
  • Fewer states saw incomes rise, likely due in part to a  slowdown in employment gains, and income gains were not shared equally across racial and ethnic groups, as I've explained.

Click here to read the full article by Erica Williams.

September 4, 2018
ACTION!!
Protect SNAP Benefits In The Farm Bill 

Members of the conference committee are working on a final version of the Farm Bill, which includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP is a proven anti-poverty and anti-hunger program supporting low-wage working families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities, and it is at risk of massive cuts that could lead to one million working families losing access to these benefits.

Make sure the House and Senate conferees working on this legislation protect SNAP benefits as the Senate version of the bill proposes, and oppose any cuts to this critical program in a final Farm Bill.

Click here to communicate to your elected representatives.