MAJOR FINDINGS*

Children Served: Approximately 1.74 million children and 1.03 million families per month received child care assistance in FY 2002. Approximately 1.75 million children and 1.02 million families per month received child care assistance in FY 2003.

Family Income: Median monthly income for families served in FY 2002 was $1,235; about 13 percent of families had income that exceeded $2,000 per month. In FY 2003, median monthly income increased slightly to $1,255, and nearly 14 percent of families had income that exceeded $2,000. TANF was reported as a source of income for 17 percent of families receiving services through CCDF in FY 2002 and 18 percent in FY 2003.

Family Co-payments: Of those families with reported income in FY 2002 and FY 2003, approximately 75 percent paid a co-payment. Of those families with co-payments, child care payments represented on average 6 percent of family income in FY 2002 and FY 2003. A majority of States and Territories (32) served families where the assessed family co-payment was 5 percent or less of family income.

Type of Care: In both FY 2002 and FY 2003, approximately 60 percent of the children served were in centers; 30 percent in family child care homes; 7 percent in the child's own home; and 4 percent in group homes.

Regulatory Status of Providers: In both FY 2002 and FY 2003, three-fourths of children served were in regulated settings; of the remaining one-fourth in unregulated settings, approximately half were in relative care and half were in nonrelative care.

Reasons for Care: In FY 2002, over 90 percent of families cited either employment or education and training as the reason for needing child care. The remaining families cited protective services and other needs as reasons for care. FY 2003 data were comparable.

*These statistics mask the wide variations that exist among States on many of these variables. In a few instances, percentages do not total 100 percent due to rounding.