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Child care has long been unaffordable and inaccessible for many families. The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), the primary federal funding source to help families with low incomes access child care, is a crucial support for many families across the country. However, Congress has never funded child care at the level needed to serve all eligible families. In fact, the most recent data from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation show that in 2019, only 1 in 6 eligible children had access to assistance.
In CLASP’s annual spending and participation brief, Alejandra Londono Gomez and Alyssa Fortner analyze national and state spending and participation data for CCDF- and TANF-funded child care for FY2020. The brief also highlights data on participation in the program, including children served and the number of providers who accept children funded through CCDF. Some key findings include:
- With COVID-19 relief resources, the total combined child care spending in FY2020 was $16.4 billion, a 23 percent increase from FY2019.
- Nearly 1.5 million children received subsidies for child care in FY2020, a 4 percent increase from FY2019.
- An all-time low of 231,723 providers accepted children with CCDF subsidies in FY2020, a 5 percent decrease from FY2019.
The data in this report only begin to paint the early picture of the pandemic’s impact. We have much more to learn as data from 2021 and beyond are made publicly available and we understand the full impact the pandemic had and continues to have on the CCDF program, children’s access, and providers’ ability to stay in the program. While the data from this analysis show increases in both funding and participation for children, it is important to understand that without additional investments these positive gains will only be temporary. The child care sector urgently needs investments to ensure children, families, and providers can continue down the path of positive improvements and not backslide from the recovery and success of the last few years.
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