EYE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD
September 2024

New final rules, a child care funding cliff, and 25 years of child care and early education at CLASP

This summer brought a lot of activity in the child care and early education space, from the implementation of the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) final rule to advocacy for much-needed additional resources to the publication of a new Head Start final rule. And there’s more on the horizon this fall!

This month, the final round of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding is set to expire. Fifteen billion in supplemental funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) that APRA authorized must be spent by September 30.

This means that many states will lose much-needed funding as they work to implement the CCDF final rule released in March and try to maintain the positive progress the relief resources advanced. Continued and significant investments in CCDBG and Head Start are indispensable at this critical time to keep the child care and early education sector afloat and help states implement the required changes reflected in the recent final rules.

Our team is fighting to secure this investment, as it has fought for affordable and accessible child care for the past 25 years. Join us in celebrating the team’s 25th anniversary on September 25 at the National Press Club in D.C. This event, which folks can also attend virtually, will be an opportunity for CLASP and the CCEE team’s alumni, friends, and partners to celebrate some of our greatest achievements and learn about the bold vision for the next 25 years – and beyond. Please RSVP here.

Read about these developments and more in the resources below.

Read our report

Featured Updates

Child Care Assistance Landscape: Inequities in Federal and State Eligibility and Access

In late June our team released the report Child Care Assistance Landscape: Inequities in Federal and State Eligibility Access, which analyzed CCDBG access and eligibility in each state with available data across race and ethnicity, based on both federal and state eligibility criteria. It includes a fact sheet with each state's disaggregated data.

Read our report and state fact sheets

Recent Publications

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

Rachel Wilensky updates the Expanding Access to Child Care Assistance report to include new CCDF final rule provisions. The report offers ways for states to expand access to care within the flexibilities of current federal regulations.

Ensuring Affordable and Accessible Child Care for All

Our team discusses the state of the child care industry, affordability challenges, and the underutilization of CCDBG funding in this brief.

The Need to Better Address Child Care Expenses in Family Economic Data

Alyssa Fortner and Stephanie Schmit explore how rising child care costs significantly impact families’ economic security and spending power, yet the intricacies of this impact for families with different circumstances and costs of care is not captured well in data. They uplift the need to better capture the full picture of child care expenses in family economic data as the Census Bureau’s annual poverty statistics are released.

New Head Start Final Rule Significantly Improves Workforce Compensation and Better Supports Children and Families

Shira Small outlines key updates from the new Head Start final rule, from increased Head Start teacher compensation to improved mental health supports for families.

Federal Investments Are Essential as the Final Child Care COVID Relief Funds Expire

Shira Small and Alyssa Fortner highlight the tremendous accomplishments states achieved with ARPA funding and what is at stake when the emergency funds fully expire on September 30.

Cost-Sharing for Child Care: Looking at the Tri-Share Model

Elijah Rassoul, Alyssa Fortner, and Shira Small explore the Tri-Share model, which splits the cost of child care between parent(s), employers, and the state. Read about the policy, lessons learned, and what states might want to consider in exploring this model.

Recent Events

QI Summit 2024: Reimagining Quality in Early Care and Education

On August 8, Tiffany Ferrette presented at a Build Initiative summit about the recently released CCDF final rule and how the new requirements and recommendations can strengthen quality in child care systems.

Strong Providers, Strong Programs and Strong Systems: Innovations and Investments in Home-Based Child Care

On July 29, Tiffany Ferrette presented at a Home Grown Child Care convening about the CCDF final rule, providing examples of final rule policies already being implemented across states and discussing the related role of home-based care in the child care sector.

60 Years of Progress and Pitfalls: What’s Next in the War on Poverty

On June 4, Tiffany Ferrette reflected on the history and role of child care in economic advancement at a Congressional hill briefing honoring the War on Poverty’s 60th anniversary.

Child Care Aware of America 2024 Symposium

On May 19, Stephanie Schmit and Alisha Saxena presented about Inequitable Access to Child Care subsidies. This session covered how limited federal investments, state funding constraints, and restrictive policies make the CCDF out of reach for far too many children and families.
On May 20, Rachel Wilensky, Alyssa Fortner, and Shira Small presented Opportunities for States to Expand Access to Child Care Assistance, detailing how the lack of a comprehensive child care and early education system impacts access to child care assistance. They reviewed policy levers that can equitably increase access within the confines of the current system and highlighted examples of positive state progress.
On May 22, Tiffany Ferrette and Alyssa Fortner presented about Centering Black Families: Equitable Discipline through Improved Data Policies in Child Care. The session explored how enduring anti-Black racism in child care can be addressed to support systemic change in discipline policies through equitable data practices.

Did you know?

CCDBG subsidies are not reaching the vast majority of eligible families.

Based on state income eligibility limits, only 14 percent of potentially eligible children nationwide accessed a CCDBG subsidy in 2020. This percentage falls to 10 percent under federal income eligibility limits. See how your state compares.

Media Mentions

WBUR NEWS Study highlights gaps in child care subsidy access due to state income eligibility caps "Things like limited federal investments and state funding constraints and restrictive policies at the state level mean that subsidy access is really out of reach for far too many children and families," said Stephanie Schmit, director of child care and early education for CLASP.
INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE Most eligible Indiana families don't access federal child care subsidies, per new report
THE BEACON Thousands of Kansas families miss out on child care subsidy “On the federal level, we need more money and better policy. And then at the state level, we need more money and better policy,” Schmit said. “It’s pretty straightforward.”
WEST VIRGINIA WATCH What’s the point of a surplus if West Virginians are suffering from lack of child care providers
And more! For additional child care and early education press clips, please click here.
Social Media Highlights

Child Care Hearing in the Senate Finance Committee
Honoring Black Maternal Mental Health Week
Celebrating Providers for Provider Appreciation Day
Meet the Team

	Meet Elijah Rassoul, our 2024 summer intern! Joining us as a Zero Hunger Intern from the Congressional Hunger Center, Elijah provided valuable support for our team this summer, including on this newsletter! We wish him the best of luck with his junior year at the University of Michigan this fall.