Fundamentals of CCDF Administration
About CCDF Fundamentals for State and Territory Administrators
The Fundamentals of CCDF Administration (The Fundamentals) website is a comprehensive, interactive resource for state/territory and tribal administrators. The Fundamentals has recently been revised to reflect the Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 2014 and the CCDF Final Rule. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act is the law that, along with Section 418 of the Social Security Act, authorizes the federal child care subsidy program known as the Child Care and Development Fund.
While the website is currently under construction, the Fundamentals of CCDF Administration is available as a printable Fundamentals Resource Guide and as PowerPoint slide deck at the bottom of this page. The PowerPoint provides an overview of the Fundamentals, while the Resource Guide provides more in-depth information, as well as links to additional resources from OCC.
Coming soon to the Fundamentals! Two learning modules that will allow users to dive even more deeply into CCDF and subsidy administration.
The Fundamentals tools are organized into broad areas of focus to support understanding the goals of the CCDF as well as implementation of the CCDBG Act of 2014.
Part 1. Introduction to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
- Provides an overview of the basics of CCDF administration including CCDF history and purposes, key statutory provisions, federal contacts and regional map, terms, and acronyms. Responsibilities of Lead Agencies and the New CCDF Administrator Checklist are included in this section.
Part 2. Define CCDF Leadership and Coordination with Relevant Systems
- Includes information to support the management of the various components of CCDF-funded activities and requirements, as well as coordination with other public and private partners. Emergency preparedness is also covered in this section.
Part 3. Promote Family Engagement through Outreach and Consumer Education
- Provides an overview of the requirements related to consumer and provider education information and interactions with parents to help them make the best child care choice for their families, including the requirement for a state consumer education website. Developmental assessments are included in this section.
Part 4. Provide Stable Child Care Financial Assistance to Families
- Contains an overview of CCDF requirements to provide more stable child care financial assistance to families on their path to financial stability, including extending children’s eligibility for child care regardless of temporary changes in parents’ earnings and work, training, or school schedules. Eligibility, parent fees, and increasing access are outlined in this section.
Part 5. Ensure Equal Access to High-Quality Child Care for Low-Income Children
- Describes market rate survey requirements, setting payment rates and timely payments to providers. Also includes an overview of grants and contracts.”
Part 6. Establish Standards and Monitoring Processes to Ensure the Health and Safety of Child Care Settings
- Contains information about licensing child care providers, including requirements, exemptions, and child-to-provider ratio and group size. This section includes information about monitoring, the child abuse reporting requirement, and criminal background checks. In addition, information is included about how families and providers can access the results of monitoring, inspections, and background checks.
Part 7. Recruit and Retain a Qualified and Effective Child Care Workforce
- Describes requirements related to the professional development of the child care workforce and a discussion of early learning and developmental guidelines.
Part 8. Support Continuous Quality Improvement
- Provides an overview of the requirements to improve the quality of child care services at the program level. Includes key elements of quality improvement, description of the funding requirements, and the options States and Territories have for quality activities.
Part 9. Ensure Grantee Accountability
- Includes information about funding and the use of funds, required reporting, accountability and program integrity, and waivers.
Throughout the Fundamentals tools, gears are used to illustrate the critical interactions needed to create an integrated system that engages partners and stakeholders. The gears show the interconnectedness of different parts of CCDF administration, such as subsidy, health and safety, licensing regulations and monitoring, quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs), and other quality initiatives. Further, the gears represent the connections between CCDF administration and Head Start, Early Head Start—Child Care partnerships, prekindergarten, early intervention, and health partners in States and Territories.
The CCDF Fundamentals were created for CCDF Administrators, especially those who are new to their positions. CCDF Administrators are often referred to as State Administrators and Territory Administrators. In some States, the CCDF Administrator is responsible for all components of the CCDF program; in others, Co-administrators are designated or interdepartmental agreements are established with other agencies for key components such as licensing administration. New CCDF Administrators as well as more seasoned CCDF Administrators will find the tools helpful for the following:
- Providing introductory or refresher training, including as a part of an on-boarding process for CCDF Administrators as well as for Lead Agency staff and administration as applicable;
- Training other Lead Agency staff; for example, quality, licensing, or subsidy staff;
- Working with the Office of Child Care regional office to receive new CCDF Administrator training, with support from the Child Care State Systems Specialists. Tracking CCDF implementation effective dates;
- Searching for information on a specific CCDF administration topic; and,
- Providing training with collaborative partners such as those in the State Advisory Council and agency staff in state departments of health, education, or the lead agency for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Please contact your Office of Child Care regional office if you have questions or need more information about the Fundamentals Resource Guide or PowerPoint.
Download
- Fundamentals of CCDF Administration Resource Guide (PDF)
- Fundamentals of CCDF Administration (PDF) PowerPoint