The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 provides funding for multiple Federal agencies through the end of Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2015. This law (Public Law 113-235) continues funding for early care and education programs as summarized below. The Act provides funding for Discretionary programs requiring annual appropriations.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)[1]
FFY 2015 Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, (P.L. 113-235) appropriates $2.435 billion for CCDBG, the Discretionary portion of CCDF funds. The law requires that the entire amount of CCDBG funds be used to supplement, not supplant, State general revenue funds for child care assistance for low-income families. The FFY 2015 CCDBG appropriation (Discretionary CCDF) includes the following targeted funds:
- $19.4 million for child care resource and referral and school-aged child care activities, of which almost $1 million shall be available to the Secretary for a competitive grant for the operation of a national toll free hotline and website to develop and disseminate child care consumer education information to parents and help parents access child care in their local community;
- $306 million for quality improvement activities, of which $112 million is to improve the quality of infant and toddler care. These targeted funds are in addition to the 4 percent minimum that States must use for quality in FY 2015; and
- Almost $10 million for HHS to use for child care research, demonstration, and evaluation activities.
FFY 2015 CCDF Mandatory and Matching Funds. Mandatory and Matching funds under CCDF remain at $2.917 billion for FFY 2015. The Mandatory and Matching funding was extended in The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L.113-235).
Combined funding for the CCDF program for FFY 2015, including CCDBG Discretionary and CCDF Mandatory and Matching funds, is approximately $5.3 billion.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
FFY 2015 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Funding for TANF was extended in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235) at $16.5 billion. TANF is authorized through the Social Security Act.
Head Start
FFY 2015 Head Start. The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, provides $8.6 billion for Head Start in FFY 2015, including $500 million for Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships, in which Early Head Start grantees will work with child care programs to increase the number of high quality slots for infants and toddlers.
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
FFY 2015 Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). The Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) is funded at $1.7 billion. States may transfer up to 10 percent of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to SSBG. The overall limit on the percentage of TANF funds that can be transferred to CCDF and SSBG is 30 percent. SSBG funds a broad range of social services including child care.
Other Related Early Care and Education Appropriations for FFY 2015
U.S. Department of Education (ED)[2]
Preschool Development Grants. The Preschool Development Grants competition supports States to 1) build or enhance their infrastructure to provide high-quality preschool programs, and 2) expand high-quality preschool programs in high-need communities. The program is funded at $250 million for FFY 2015 for the second year of the awards.
Title I, Part A Grants to Local Education Agencies. The appropriation for Title I grants to local education agencies is $14.4 billion for FFY 2015. Title I provides flexible funding to high-poverty school districts and schools that may be used for staff salaries, professional development, program materials, extended-time programs and other strategies for raising student achievement. Some school districts use Title I funds to support preschool programs.
21st Century Community Learning Centers. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers received $1.15 billion for FFY 2015 to provide funding for afterschool programs. Funds flow through formula grants to the States which award local grants to public and private entities (as well as directly to some existing local grantees through continuation funding).
Special Education Grants for Infants and Families (IDEA, Part C). Funding for these grants, authorized by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is $438 million for FFY 2015. States use these funds to provide early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.
Special Education Preschool Grants (IDEA, Part B). Funding for Special Education Preschool grants, authorized by Part B of IDEA, is $353 million for FFY 2015. State education agencies use these funds to provide special education and related services for preschool-aged children with disabilities.
Ready-to-Learn Television. Funding for Ready-to-Learn Television is $25.7 million for FFY 2015. This program supports educational television programming for children and families and a variety of related activities, including the development and dissemination of education and training materials for parents, child care providers, and other educators.
Campus Child Care. For FFY 2015, funding for this program is $15.1 million to be awarded to institutions of higher education for campus-based child care through ED's Child Care Access Means Parents in School program.
Institute of Education Sciences or IES. This Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences is funded at $574 million for FFY 2015 for its three Centers: the National Center for Education Research (NCER); the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE); and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). All three centers have some activities focusing on early education and preschool programs.
Promise Neighborhoods. The FFY 2015 appropriation provides $57 million for Promise Neighborhoods. This program supports projects that significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth in distressed communities and to transform those communities by providing a cradle-to-career continuum of comprehensive education reforms, effective community services, and strong systems of family and community support- with high-quality schools at the center. Applicants may propose to implement a comprehensive local early learning system as part of the applicant’s cradle-to-career continuum.
Prepared by the Office of Child Care
[1] CCDF consists of two separate funding streams: 1) Discretionary funding authorized by the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act, subject to annual appropriation; and 2) an entitlement portion of Mandatory and Matching funds made available under Section 418 of the Social Security Act.
[2] For more detailed information regarding Department of Education Appropriations see the following website: http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/news.html . A table of FFY 2015 appropriations is available at http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget15/15action.pdf (PDF).