The Office of Child Care (OCC), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), published a Final Rule to increase program flexibility for Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations operating CCDF programs in determining family eligibility . The Final Rule provides all Tribal CCDF Lead Agencies the flexibility to serve Indian children in their service area regardless of family income or assets.
The Final Rule provides Tribal Nations with more flexibility to better meet community needs, address calls for greater Tribal sovereignty, and facilitate better alignment between Tribal CCDF and Tribal Head Start programs. It also responds to requests from Tribal Leaders and Tribal CCDF Lead Agencies for more flexibility on family eligibility so they can design child care programs to better meet community needs. The Final Rule better aligns with recent statutory changes to eligibility in the Tribal Head Start program, which facilitates more Tribes operating both programs greater ability to coordination between Tribal early childhood programs.