“Children Learning, Parents Earning, Communities Growing"

The content on this page is to serve as a resource of pending federal legislation, information from national partners and relevant updates to the Child Care Development & Block Grant (CCDBG) law and to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).  Click here to watch live US Senate Floor proceedings.  Click here to watch US House of Representatives hearings.

Federal Update: September 10, 2021 

House Education and Labor Committee Passes Build Back Better Act Provisions with Historic, Long-Overdue Child Care & Preschool Investments

Thursday, the House Committee on Education and Labor voted to advance a package of legislative proposals – its portion of the Build Back Better Act – which includes significant investments and reforms to strengthen America’s early learning system and make child care and preschool affordable for all families who need it. After a full committee markup, which included discussion from Democratic and Republican lawmakers about the crucial role of child care and early learning, the committee approved the proposal, which now heads to the House Budget Committee to be combined with other committees’ Build Back Better Act provisions.

Specifically, the committee package includes the following provisions for child care and Pre-K: 

• Federal funding to make child care affordable for all families with children from birth through age five using a sliding scale for copayments in which families earning less than 75% of state median income (SMI) pay nothing and all families pay no more than 7% of their household income. 
  • Appropriates $90 billion during the first 3 years ($20 billion in FY2022, $30 billion in FY2023, and $40 billion in FY2024) and such sums as may be necessary in FY2025-FY2027 to build the supply of quality child care and support a phased-in expansion of income eligibility with a requirement for states to provide child care assistance to all eligible families by October 1, 2024.
  • For FY2022-2027, appropriates $9.6 billion annually for Local Birth to Five Early Learning Grants to be awarded to localities in states that have not applied or been approved for payments under the entitlement program.
• Federal funding to guarantee access to high-quality, free, inclusive, and mixed-delivery preschool services for all three- and four-year-old children on a voluntary basis.
  • For FY2022-2028, appropriates such sums as may be necessary to cover the federal share of the cost of universal, high-quality, free, inclusive, and mixed delivery preschool services.
  • For FY2023-2028, appropriates $1.25 billion annually for grants to localities in states that have not applied or been approved for payments under the universal preschool program.

Additionally, the House Committee on Ways and Means is marking up its own portion of the Build Back Better Act, including $15 billion for child care facilities, funding to establish a Child Care Information Network that offers parents up-to-date information on available child care options, and the establishment of a Child Care Wage Grant program to increase wages for child care providers.  

Federal Update: July 15, 2021 

Millions of Working Families Receive Child Tax Credit in Advance Monthly Payments

Thanks to the largest expansion ever of the Federal Child Tax Credit, millions of working families will receive a total tax credit of up to $3,600 for each child 5 or under, and $3,000 for each child between the ages of 6 and 17. Eligible parents and guardians began receiving payments on July 15th. They will receive half of their total CTC through these monthly payments on the 15th of each month from July- December 2021. The other half will be paid in one lumpsum after families file their 2021 taxes next year. Families eligible for the full payment amount are whose 2019-2020 federal taxes reflect that their income is $112,000 or less as head of household, and $150,000 or less as married couples. However, families who make under $400,000 will still receive a partial payment of up to $2,000 per child. Monthly payments will be deposited or mailed for up to $300 per month this year for each child age 5 or under, and up to $250 per month for each child between the ages of 6 and 17. For more information, we encourage you to visit the following sources:

ChildTaxCredit.Gov

IRS: 2021 Child Tax Credit General Information

2021 Child Tax Credit and Advance Child Tax Credit Payments FAQ

IRS: Child Tax Credit: Manage Payment, Check Eligibility, Application for Non-filers

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Relevant Federal Legislation

• The American Families Plan - White House Fact Sheet: April 28, 2021
• The American Jobs Plan - White House Fact Sheet: March 31, 2021

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Federal Spotlights:

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