Child CareTAKE ACTIONUse our online alert to urge Congress to invest in Head Start and child care View our Early Childhood Development Powerpoint presentation Access to quality early childhood programs, including preschool and child care, is essential for low-income working parents. If parents are expected to work, then early childhood programs must be safe, affordable, and available. Beyond that, society has an interest in ensuring that the programs are of good quality, providing something more than just babysitting. The 1996 welfare reform law consolidated several different sources of federal funding for child care into the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). CCDBG provides a block grant to states for child care assistance to help low-income working families become and remain independent. Specifically, CCDBG helps defray the costs of child care by providing eligible low-income families with subsidies to help them pay for child care. CCDBG includes funds specifically dedicated to improving the quality, as well as the amount of child care available, to low income families. Funding of CCDBG comes from three sources:
CCDBG provides money for child care assistance for low-income families, families receiving public assistance, and those enrolled in training or education or who are working and transitioning from public assistance. States can use these funds to help families who need child care in order to work and to help families move out of and stay off of welfare. For many parents, child care is essential in order for them to work. For families leaving welfare, child care is pivotal to a parent’s ability to make a smooth transition from welfare to work. For child care arrangements to support working families, they must be affordable, available, reliable, and of good quality. Many low-income parents, however, have difficulty finding child care settings that are affordable and flexible enough to accommodate their work schedules, while also meeting their child’s developmental needs. We support annual funding increases for Head Start and the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), so that both programs are able to serve a greater number of eligible children. Federal child care assistance only reaches one out of every seven eligible children, and we continue to advocate for funding increases so that more children and their families can be served. In order to address the upcoming funding shortfalls, we urge policymakers to consider a $1 billion increase each for CCDBG and Head Start for fiscal year 2011 so that programs do not face a “funding cliff” when the temporary stimulus funds run out. The president’s 2011 budget is due to be sent to Congress in early February 2010. You can take action by sending e-mails to Congress using our Head Start and child care funding action alert. Cost of Child Care Increasingly Strains Household BudgetsCLASP reported in December 2009 that fewer children received child care assistance through CCDBG in 2008 than in 2007. According to preliminary data from the Child Care Bureau, the 1.6 million children served in 2008 was 106,000 fewer than in 2007, and the smallest number of children served this decade. State-by-state profiles of participation are available on the CLASP website. The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) released a report (PDF) on Parents and the High Cost of Child Care - 2008 Update. The report says that the cost of child care is rising at almost twice the rate of inflation in most states. A family with one infant will face average prices of $4,542 to $14,591 for a year of center-based care. Parents of a 4-year-old child will face $3,380 to $10,787 in child care fees. In every region, child care costs more than food. Child care is particularly unaffordable for single parents. The cost of care for two children ranges from 48 to 102 percent of the state’s median income for single parents. A study released September 29, 2009, by National Women's Law Center shows that, between February of 2008 and February of 2009, more states made cuts than made improvements in desperately needed child care assistance, worsening an already bleak landscape for parents trying to afford reliable child care. Reauthorization Long OverdueProgram rules for operating CCDBG have not been reauthorized for several years. CCDBG has been operating under a series of extensions. Reauthorization in 2011 would be an opportunity to improve the program. One of the leading organizations for child care providers is the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA). NACCRRA recommends congressional hearings on CCDBG to examine quality and affordability issues. NACCRRA points out that the military child care system was revamped in a way that assures high quality, affordability and accountability. The Military Child Care Act of 1989 strengthened the system. CCDBG should be reformed on this model. See NACCRRA’s key legislation policy statement. NACCRRA also released a 12-point plan to create a national community-based training system for the child care workforce. Recommendations include:
Child care is not effective if the quality is poor. Therefore, it is essential for child care providers to receive proper training so that they are prepared to handle different challenges and are able to provide important services to children and their families. In May 2009, Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) reintroduced his Starting Early, Starting Right Act (S.1000). The bill amends CCDBG with a focus on bolstering the quality of child care as well as increasing access to child care assistance for low-income families. An increase of $50 billion in mandatory child care funds over five years would assist states in expanding families’ access to high-quality child care. The companion House bill is H.R.4358 by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI-2). Additional Resources:
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