Policy

Current as of:

Federal laws, regulations, instructions and guidance apply to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The CCDF fact sheet offers a brief summary of the various requirements. The resources below offer more detailed guidance and information.

CCDF Final Regulations

The CCDF Final Regulations are the specific rules regarding how CCDF should be carried out. 

CCDF Law or Statute

The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG) of 1990 as amended, and section 418 of the Social Security Act, as amended, are the laws that govern implementation of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program.

Program Instructions and Guidance 

Occasionally, to offer more specific guidance related to a particular CCDF topic or question, the Office of Child Care will issue a Program Instruction or other guidance. Topics vary from issues such as reporting requirements to health and safety requirements and emergency preparedness to eligibility for CCDF funds.

CCDF Performance Measures

Every year, the OCC reports on a set of indicators that reflect CCDF program performance. The progress OCC makes is reported annually in the President’s Budget Justification to Congress.

Reporting Requirements

OCC collects data from states, tribes and territories receiving CCDF funds in order to evaluate and assess and better understand how they are working to meet the needs of families and children. Through reports such as the ACF-800, the ACF-801 and the ACF-700, OCC is able to collect information about the number of children and families being served by CCDF, the number of providers receiving CCDF funds, the types of care settings CCDF-funded children are in and other information about CCDF caseloads.

CCDF grantees are also required to submit a financial report, the ACF-696 or ACF-696T.

Technical Bulletins

Technical Bulletins are issued by OCC to provide extra clarification around the requirements in the administrative data reports — the ACF800, ACF 801, and the ACF700.

Program Integrity and Accountability

The OCC is dedicated to ensuring that CCDF funds are spent properly, while taking into account the impact on eligible families seeking benefits. In accordance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019   (PDF)the Office of Child Care has instituted a Program Integrity plan which offers technical assistance and support to states to increase program accountability and reduce improper payments, fraud, waste and abuse. States submit information related to program error rates using the ACF-403, the ACF-404, and the ACF-405