Child Care

For many parents in low-income families, access to quality, affordable child care is essential in order for them to work, and for families leaving welfare, child care is pivotal to a parent’s smooth transition to work. For child care arrangements to support working families, they must be affordable, available, reliable, and of good quality. However, aany low-income parents 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.

The 1996 welfare reform law consolidated several different sources of federal funding for child care into the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) which assist low-income working families to become and remain independent. This grant funds quality child care for low-income families, families receiving public assistance, and those enrolled in training/school, or who are working and transitioning from public assistance. Right now, federal child care assistance only reaches one out of every seven eligible children. RESULTS supports 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 children. In FY2012, RESULTS and our allies call on Congress to increase funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant by $1.2 billion and to allot a total of $8.1 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start. This funding would sustain effective, high-quality services for at-risk, low-income children and their families across the nation. You can take action by sending e-mails to Congress using our Head Start and child care funding action alert.

A December 2009 report from the National Center for Education Statistics offers proof that early care and education experiences are a critical part of future school success::

• Children who participated in regular early care and education arrangements the year prior to kindergarten scored higher on the reading and mathematics assessments than children who had no regular experience in early care and education the year prior to entering kindergarten.
• Children who participated in regular early care and education arrangements the year prior to kindergarten scored higher on the fine motor skill assessments than children who had no regular early care and education the year prior to entering kindergarten.
• About four out of five (83.2 percent) participated in a regular non-parental early care and education arrangement the year before kindergarten.

Cost of Child Care Increasingly Strains Household Budgets

For low-income and other families, child care is often the highest or second highest cost in family budgets. More parents now spend large portions of their income on child care; some are forced to quit their jobs and turn to welfare when child care assistance is not available. Despite the importance of high-quality child care to school readiness and later success, only about one in six children eligible for federal child care assistance receives help, and this unmet need continues to grow as the eligible population has increased and the number of children receiving assistance has declined. The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) report, Parents and the High Cost of Child Care - 2010 Update, reveals that child care prices continue to rise, despite the nation's economic downturn. NACCRRA found that since 2000, the cost of child care has increased twice as fast as the median income of families with children and the cost of care for an infant in a child care center is more than the cost of college tuition and related expenses in 40 states. In 2009, child care fees for two children (an infant and a 4 year old) in a child care center exceeded annual median rent and mortgage payments in 18 states. As child care costs rise, parents are shifting their children from licensed programs to informal care that potentially compromises their safety, health, and school readiness.

As the National Women’s Law Center reports, many states are starting to cut back their state childcare assistance programs. As the additional funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) runs out, states are forced to scale back their services. These cuts have large impacts on low-income parents as they force them to find a way to pay for child care while struggling to pay other bills or prevent them from getting the child care they need to work. The cuts cause children to lose access to the stable, good-quality child care that encourages their learning and development and prepares them for school success.

Reauthorization Long Overdue

Program 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.

The National Women's Law Center spearheaded efforts to map out a bigger picture child care agenda. Developing America's Potential: An Agenda for Affordable, High-Quality Child Care provides federal and state policymakers with a detailed road map for much needed systemic reforms in child care,  the product of a collaboration among national and state organizations.

The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (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:

• requiring all paid providers to have a minimum of 40 hours of training in child development and guidance, first aid, health and safety practices, etc. prior to working with children
• expanding training options in languages other than English and in distance education through means such as on-line training
• developing wage incentive, bonus, and recognition models that reward higher levels of training and competency
• developing training evaluation models and assessment measures to evaluate the effectiveness of training in improving individual child care provider competency

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.

Program 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.

The National Women's Law Center spearheaded efforts to map out a bigger picture child care agenda. Developing America's Potential: An Agenda for Affordable, High-Quality Child Care provides federal and state policymakers with a detailed road map for much needed systemic reforms in child care,  the product of a collaboration among national and state organizations.

The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (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:

• requiring all paid providers to have a minimum of 40 hours of training in child development and guidance, first aid, health and safety practices, etc. prior to working with children
• expanding training options in languages other than English and in distance education through means such as on-line training
• developing wage incentive, bonus, and recognition models that reward higher levels of training and competency
• developing training evaluation models and assessment measures to evaluate the effectiveness of training in improving individual child care provider competency

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.