EYE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD
September 2023

As the child care funding cliff approaches, CLASP documents the impact of existing funds and highlights need for urgent action

Child care relief resources prevented the sector from collapsing. Relief dollars helped increase provider wages, expand income eligibility, and reduce out-of-pocket fees for families, among many other important achievements. This funding facilitated meaningful stabilization and advancements in child care and early education, but that progress is at stake as child care relief resources begin to expire on September 30th.

Over the last few months, we’ve talked with administrators, advocates, providers, and parents and it is evident that the expiration of these resources will have significant consequences over the coming weeks, months, and years. This makes the need for sustained and increased investment in child care as clear as ever.

Recently, Senator Murray, Senator Sanders, and Representative Clark, along with many other members of Congress, introduced the Child Care Stabilization Act to address this challenge and help keep providers and families afloat when funds expire. The bill would allocate $16 billion in mandatory funding each year for the next five years to help ensure child care providers can afford to keep their doors open. This comes at an important time as we approach the end of the fiscal year where potential funding is already challenged by political gridlock and spending restrictions from the debt ceiling bill.

CLASP remains focused on supporting states and families as the funding cliff approaches and continuing our broad advocacy to make the case for significant investment in many ways, including by documenting the impact of these funds.

Read more about our team’s work documenting the need for increased and intentional investment and everything else we are up to below.

Featured Updates

Child Care and Development Fund Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Comments

The Department of Health and Human Services released a notice of proposed rulemaking this summer aimed at improving the access and affordability of child care. Our team was proud to work with partners to develop joint public comments and a sign on letter supported by nearly 80 organizations.

READ OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS

What you need to know

Making Copayments Affordable As Child Care Emergency Funding Expires

Shira Small outlines ways states can make their copayments more affordable and understandable as the September 30th COVID relief funding cliff approaches.

Unified, Safe, and Well: Building Life-Affirming Systems for Justice-Impacted Families

Deanie Anyangwe and Alycia Hardy analyze the landscape for family-based alternative sentencing programs to assess their effectiveness and demonstrate the need for alternatives to incarceration that address immediate needs for caregivers and children.

Child Care Assistance Spending & Participation in 2020

Alejandra Londono Gomez and Alyssa Fortner analyze national and state spending and participation data for CCDF- and TANF-funded child care for FY2020.

Pandemic Child Care Relief Funds: Documenting Impact Across Four States

Rachel Wilensky, Alyssa Fortner, and Shira Small document the impact of COVID-19 relief funding in Louisiana, Michigan, New York, and Virginia through interviews with state administrators, advocates, providers, and parents.

All I Want for Father's Day is Paid Leave and Support for Caregiving

Indivar Dutta-Gupta discusses the need for policies that support caregivers in the form of expanded access to child care, paid family leave, and more.

Expanding Access to Child Care Assistance: Opportunities in the Child Care and Development Fund

Rachel Wilensky, Alejandra Londono Gomez, Alyssa Fortner, and Tiffany Ferrette offer states ways to improve child care access within the confines of the current law, focusing on modifications and improvements to access and eligibility-related policies.

How Presumptive Eligibility Can Help Families Access Child Care

Alejandra Londono Gomez shares ways states can use presumptive eligibility to allow families to receive temporary child care assistance while their eligibility for the program is being determined. Read the accompanying FAQ here.

Child Care for Working Families Act BASE Grants: State-by-State Estimates of $9 Billion in Proposed Funding

Stephanie Schmit and Alycia Hardy explain how the Building an Affordable System for Early Education (BASE) grants provision of Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA)’s Child Care for Working Families Act could impact states’ funding.

Recent Events

Centering Black Families: Equitable Discipline through Improved Data Policies in Child Care

On September 12th, Tiffany Ferrette, Alycia Hardy, and Alyssa Fortner presented to the NC Coalition for Inclusion, Not Expulsions on the Centering Black Families: Equitable Discipline through Improved Data Policies in Child Care brief and state and federal recommendations to address harsh disciplinary practices.

The Urgent Need for Effective Child Care and ECE Policy Early Learning Nation Magazine

On September 12th, Stephanie Schmit presented on the Grade Level Reading Learning Tuesdays webinar co-sponsored by Early Learning Nation Magazine, sharing insights on the development of the previous child care legislation and what was learned to improve future legislative attempts.

Workshop: How Parent Voices California Won Affordable Child Care

On August 22nd, Tiffany Ferrette co-presented with advocates from Parent Voices California on a Child Care for Every Family Network webinar to discuss a federal overview of child care copayments for families, and recent updates in the proposed rules from the Administration for Children and Families. Tiffany also shared CLASP’s role in supporting states in advancing equitable child care policies.

Building Dynamic Relationships: Advocates and Administrators Collaborating in Child Care and Early Education

On July 25th, Rachel Wilensky and Alyssa Fortner facilitated a webinar with state administrators and advocates to explore how they worked together to improve child care and early education systems in Michigan and New York.

Community-Driven Change: How Advocates Changed Early Childhood Education In New Mexico

On July 24th, Alejandra Londono Gomez moderated a webinar featuring child care leaders in New Mexico discussing how states can leverage community organizing and power to facilitate meaningful advancements in child care. Click here for the Spanish recording.

Did you know?

The child care sector received more than $50 billion in child care relief funds in 2020.

The child care sector received more than $50B in child care relief resources starting in 2020. See what is at stake when a majority of the resources expire at the end of this month.