Tribal Child Care And Development Fund: Guide for New Administrators
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About the Child Care and Development Fund
The Child Care Bureau (CCB), Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) supports low-income working families through child care financial assistance and promotes children’s healthy development by improving the quality of early care and education and afterschool programs. The Child Care Bureau administers CCDF at the Federal level, providing support and guidance to CCDF grantees. The Child Care Bureau Regional Program Managers3, located in each ACF Regional Office, are integral partners with the Tribal, State, and Territory Lead Agencies in the administration of the CCDF funds. These CCB Regional Program Managers and their staff members work with tribal grantees as the primary Federal point of contact for CCDF administration.
In order to qualify for CCDF funds, Tribes must be federally recognized and the tribal population must include at least 50 children under age 13 living on or near the reservation or service area (the reservation requirement does not apply to Tribes in Alaska, California, and Oklahoma). A Tribe with fewer than 50 children under age 13 may participate in a consortium of eligible Tribes.4 Tribal grantees must designate a Lead Agency5 to apply for funding and be accountable for administering the CCDF program. Within the broad framework of federal regulations governing the CCDF program, the Tribal Lead Agency has considerable flexibility in administering and implementing the child care program, determining the basic use of the funds, and identifying spending priorities based on the unique and specific needs of the Indian children and families in the tribal community.
Key responsibilities of the Tribal Lead Agency: |
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Tribal CCDF programs can be administered in one of two ways, either through the traditional grantee process or through consolidation of CCDF with other employment and training funding sources under a P.L. 102-477 (The Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act) Plan. Much of the information in this document focuses on the traditional method of tribal CCDF administration. Because consolidation of CCDF under P.L. 102-477 involves different plan and reporting requirements, programs operating under P.L. 102-477 should refer to Public Law 102-477 prior to reviewing the rest of this document. If you are unsure about which administration mechanism your CCDF program uses, please contact your Regional Office for guidance. (see Appendix B for contact information).
Applying for Child Care and Development Funds
Each spring, the Child Care Bureau mails a Program Instruction6 (PI) to tribal CCDF grantees that describes the application procedures for the CCDF monies for the upcoming fiscal year. The Federal Fiscal Year starts October 1 and ends September 30. To receive Child Care and Development Funds, Tribes must submit a Plan every two years (biennial Plan) and a funding application every year. In years that Plans are not submitted (even-numbered calendar years are non-Plan years), the Tribal Lead Agency shall apply for funding by submitting a completed and signed Child Count Declaration. The Child Count Declaration certifies the number of Indian children (as defined by the Tribe) under age 13 who reside on or near the Tribe’s reservation or CCDF service area.7 The governing body of the Tribe or a person authorized to act for the applicant Tribe or organization must sign (self-certify) the Child Count Declaration. For the years in which the Tribal Lead Agency submits the biennial CCDF plan, the Plan itself serves as the application and includes the Child Count Declaration. The Child Count Declaration is then used by ACF to calculate the amount of the grant award .
Developing the Biennial Tribal CCDF Plan
Every two years (in odd-numbered calendar years), in conjunction with the application process described above, each eligible Tribe or consortium submits a tribal CCDF Plan. The Child Care Bureau provides a “preprint” of the Plan to be used as the framework for describing the child care program and services available to the tribal community.8 The Plan must be submitted to the appropriate Regional Office for review by July 1. After final review and approval, the Plan becomes effective for a two-year period beginning on October 1 of the funding year.
Developing the tribal CCDF Plan is an opportunity to establish the goals and priorities for serving the children and families of the tribal community. In the development of the CCDF Plan, Tribes are required to coordinate with federal, State, and local child care, early education, and after-school programs; consult with local government; and coordinate services with the State and tribal agencies responsible for health services (including immunizations); education; employment services and workforce development; and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Additionally, the grantee must hold at least one public hearing9 to seek input from members of the tribal community on the use of the child care funds. The method and outreach for conducting the public hearing is determined by each tribal grantee. Public hearings provide an opportunity to receive input from parents; other family members, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles; child care providers; tribal leaders; and the broader tribal community. Public hearings can help galvanize support for early childhood programs and build awareness of the needs of Indian children and families. CCDF regulations require that the public hearing be held before the Plan is submitted to ACF, but no earlier than 9 months prior to the effective date of the CCDF Plan (that is, between January and June of the Plan year) and that the public be given a minimum of 20 days notice about the hearing. The notice must be made available across the reservation or service area. In order for the input received through the public hearing process to be most relevant to the Plan submitted, copies of the proposed Plan should be made available to the public prior to the public hearing.
Funding Allocations and Reporting
The tribal CCDF is comprised of Federal Discretionary and Mandatory Funds. No tribal match is required to receive and use these funds. The Discretionary Funds include a base amount ($20,000 for Tribes with at least 50 Indian children under 13; base amounts for tribal consortia will differ) plus a per-child amount. The base amount provides an important source of funds that can be used for any costs that are consistent with CCDF program parameters. The base amount can provide an opportunity to develop the infrastructure and capacity of the Tribe to operate a child care program and can be used for administrative costs, direct child care services to children, non-direct services, or quality/availability activities. Additionally, Tribes receive Discretionary Funds targeted specifically for school-age services—such as before- and after-school programs—and resource and referral services, such as those that provide consumer education to help families know about the availability of the CCDF program and how to find child care services to meet the needs of their children. The amount of Mandatory Funds received is calculated solely on a per-child basis. The Mandatory and Discretionary per-child amounts are based on the information reported in the annual Child Count Declaration.
CCDF funds are available to the Tribal Lead Agency each year soon after October 1—the beginning of the Federal Fiscal Year (FY or FFY). Tribal grantees have two years to obligate (commit) the funds, and an additional year to liquidate (pay out) the funds. By April 1 of each year, tribal grantees are required to send a letter to ACF projecting any amounts they will not be able to obligate by the end of the second year. If certain conditions are met, unobligated Discretionary funds may then be reallocated to other Tribes. Any funds not obligated and liquidated in the required timeframes revert back to the Federal government.
The Child Care and Development Fund Financial Report is known as the ACF-696T. Tribes (except those receiving CCDF funds through a P.L. 102-477 consolidation plan, as described above) are required to use the ACF-696T to report expenditures for the tribal Mandatory, Discretionary, and Construction/Renovation funds issued under the CCDF. Reports are required to be submitted annually on or before December 29th, which allows 90 days after the close of the fiscal year for completion. 10 11
CCDF funds are available for use in more than one fiscal year, allowing for short-and long-term planning. Since grantees must report on the unobligated balance and the unliquidated obligations for each fiscal year, more than one ACF-696T financial report may need to be submitted in a calendar year.
The ACF-696T report tracks CCDF expenditures in the following cost categories:12
- Child care services (direct services to children);
- Child care administration;
- Non-direct services;
- Quality activities; and
- Construction/renovation expenditures.
Tribal Lead Agencies have the option of submitting their ACF-696T either manually or by mailing hard copies or through the Internet using Online Data Collection (OLDC). ACF encourages grantees to use the OLDC since it reduces paperwork, allows for quicker processing, automatically completes required calculations, and checks for potential errors. Access to OLDC is password-protected; Tribal Lead Agencies can request access to the system using the OLDC Access Request Form, which is available online (along with OLDC help sheets, user guides, and interactive tutorials) at https://extranet.acf.hhs.gov/oldcdocs/materials.html.
Tribes may use some of their CCDF funds for the construction and major/minor renovation of child care facilities. The Tribal Lead Agency must first request and receive approval from ACF before using CCDF funds for construction or major renovation. Early in the planning process 13 , Tribes are advised to contact their respective ACF Regional Office in order to determine whether or not a construction application is required. Tribes receiving CCDF funds are required to follow ACF’s application and fiscal procedures for construction or major renovation projects. 14 These procedures require the Tribal Lead Agency to show that adequate child care facilities are not available and that the lack of facilities will inhibit future program operations. Before submitting a construction application, the Tribal Lead Agency must conduct a community needs assessment to determine the need for construction or major renovation and, if so, how the facility can be developed in a manner that best meets community needs. Use of funds for construction or major renovation cannot result in a decrease in the level of child care services compared to the preceding fiscal year. If a Tribe constructs or renovates more than one facility, it must seek ACF approval for each project (even if the projects use identical plans and specifications). A Tribal Lead Agency may, however, use a single application to seek approval for more than one project, as long as all required information is provided for each project.
Public Law 102-47715
The Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992, as amended, (P.L. 102-477) was enacted to:
- Demonstrate how Indian tribal governments can integrate the employment, training, and related services they provide in order to improve the effectiveness of those services;
- Reduce joblessness in Indian communities;
- Foster economic development on Indian lands; and
- Serve tribally determined goals consistent with the policy of self-determination and self-governance.
P.L. 102-477 permits tribal governments to consolidate a number of federal programs into a single, coordinated comprehensive program. The CCDF is one of the programs that Tribes may include in the operation of a P.L. 102-477 program. The Department of the Interior serves as the lead federal agency for all P.L. 102-477 plans. Eligible tribal applicants may choose to streamline tribal services by submitting a consolidated plan to the Department of the Interior.
Each spring, the Child Care Bureau mails current 102-477 grantees a Program Instruction that contains CCDF application and plan requirements and other procedures for consolidating the CCDF program with other employment and training funding sources under a P.L. 102-477 plan. The Child Care Bureau’s annual fiscal year CCDF application requirements Program Instruction also references the P.L. 102-477 funding option.
To receive CCDF funding under a consolidated P.L. 102-477 plan, all tribal grantees and tribal applicants must:
- Be eligible to receive CCDF funding;
- Submit, and receive CCB approval of, an abbreviated CCDF plan;
- Have no outstanding CCDF program (ACF-700) or financial (ACF-696T) reports (applicable only to those Tribes submitting initial P.L. 102-477 plans); and
- Have received approval from the Department of the Interior for a consolidated P.L. 102-477 plan that includes CCDF.
Tribes that consolidate CCDF funds under a P.L. 102-477 plan are not required to submit the ACF-700 program data reporting form or the ACF-696T financial reporting form. However, these grantees must submit an annual child count to the Child Care Bureau, operate comprehensive CCDF programs in accordance with Federal regulations, and use all of the CCDF funds for child care purposes as defined by CCDF. They must also conform with all P.L. 102-477 grantee requirements, including the consolidated plan and reporting requirements.
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3 A list of Regional Office contacts is available in printable Appendix B. 
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4 Final Rule: Grantee Eligibility: 98.80. Back to Text
5 Final Rule: Lead Agency Responsibilities: 98.10. Back to Text
6 See http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/tribal_topic.htm for the most current Program Instruction on Tribal Application and Plan Procedures. Back to Text
7 The Tribal Lead Agency defines “Indian children” and “service area” in Appendix 2 of its CCDF Plan. The Tribe may not count any children who are included in the child count of another CCDF Tribal Lead Agency. To ensure unduplicated counts, a Tribal Lead Agency is required to confer with all other Tribal CCDF Lead Agencies that have overlapping or neighboring service areas. Back to Text
8 See http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/tribal_topic.htm for the most current Plan Preprint, which is part of the current Program Instruction on Tribal Application and Plan Procedures. Back to Text
9 Final Rule: Public Hearings: 98.14 (c) (1). Back to Text
10 See http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/tribal_topic.htm for the most current Program Instruction on Financial Reporting for Indian Tribes. Back to Text
11 Document and Reporting Submission Overview for Tribes. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/report/tr_ovrvw.htm Back to Text
12 For more information about direct services, see Direct Services through Certificates and Contracts. Information about the other ACF-696T cost categories can be found in the Financial Management section. Back to Text
13 See Tribal Child Care Facilities: A Guide to Construction and Renovation, for information on planning and other phases of the construction and renovation process. Available online at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/tribal/construction. Back to Text
14 Program Instruction CCDF-ACF-PI-2007-03, CCDF Construction and Renovation Procedures for Tribal Lead Agencies, dated May 9, 2007. This Program Instruction is available under the “Construction and Renovation” section of the Child Care Bureau’s Web site at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/tribal_topic.htm. Back to Text
15See http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ccb/law/tribal_topic.htm for the most current Program Instruction on Application and Plan procedures for 102-477 Grantees. Back to Text