Child Care and Development Fund, Report to Congress for Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003
Introduction
This report to Congress is required by Section 658L of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act as amended by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 (P.L. 104–193) and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (P.L. 105–33). The report describes and analyzes current information about the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) from a variety of sources, including State plans, expenditure reports, administrative data reports, and research. The report also includes information about training and technical assistance that is provided to States, Territories, and Tribes.
CCDF is a significant source of Federal support to improve the affordability, supply, and quality of child care in the United States. CCDF assists low-income families, including families receiving or transitioning from temporary public assistance, in obtaining child care so they can work, or at State option, attend training or education.
For both fiscal years (FY) 2002 and 2003, $4.8 billion in CCDF was available through block grants to all 50 States, the District of Columbia, 5 Territories, and 262 Tribal grantees in FY 2002 and 259 Tribal grantees in FY 2003 (representing approximately 500 Indian Tribes). Through CCDF and other funding streams available for child care – including State Matching and Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funds, Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) funds, and TANF dollars transferred to CCDF or spent directly by States on child care services – an estimated $11.8 billion in FY 2002 and $11.5 billion in FY 2003 was available for child care.
| CCDF Grantees |
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CCDF grantees include—
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CCDF is administered at the Federal level by the Child Care Bureau (CCB), Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in collaboration with ACF Regional Offices in the Department of Health and Human Services. States, Territories, and Tribes are responsible for ensuring that their CCDF grants are administered in compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. In administering CCDF, States have significant discretion in how funds are used and where emphasis is placed in achieving the overall goals of CCDF.
CCDF funds are used primarily to provide subsidized child care services through vouchers or certificates to low-income working families with children under age 13. Parents may select any legally operating child care provider, including child care centers, family members, neighbors, family child care homes, after-school programs, and faith-based programs.
Providers serving children funded by CCDF must meet basic health and safety requirements set by States, Territories, and Tribes. Within general Federal rules, States decide how their subsidy system will be administered and determine payment rates for providers, the co-payment amounts that parents pay, specific eligibility requirements that a family must meet to receive a subsidy, and how CCDF services will be prioritized.
CCDF Lead Agencies must use a minimum of 4 percent of CCDF funds to improve the quality of child care. CCDF also includes earmarks for specific purposes: quality enhancement, improving the quality of care for infants and toddlers, improving school-age care, and child care resource and referral services. Quality activities include provider staff training, grants and loans to providers, health and safety improvements, monitoring of licensing requirements, and other initiatives.
| What Data Sources Are Used in This Report? |
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This report is largely based on information and data reported by States to CCB, including—
The report also describes CCB's research and technical assistance efforts in FY 2002 and FY 2003. |