Quality Progress Report (QPR) (ACF-218) for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program for the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024

CCDF-ACF-PI-2024-07

Publication Date: October 30, 2024
Current as of:

PROGRAM INSTRUCTION

  1. Log No: CCDF-ACF-PI-2024-07    
  2. Issuance Date: October 28, 2024
  3. Originating Office:  Office of Child Care 
  4. Key Words:  Child Care and Development Fund, CCDF, Quality Progress Report, ACF-218

To

State and territorial lead agencies administering the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program, as amended, and other interested parties.

Subject

This Program Instruction (PI) informs States and Territories that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved changes to the Quality Progress Report (QPR) (ACF-218) for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program for the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024 and provides guidance for completing and submitting the QPR.

References

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act (42 U.S.C. § 9858 et seq.), as amended by the CCDBG Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-186); section 418 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 618); 45 CFR Parts 98 and 99; 81 FR 67438-67595.

Purpose

The purpose of the annual QPR is to collect information on state and territory CCDF quality funds expenditures, including the activities funded and the measures used by states and territories to evaluate progress in improving the quality of child care programs and services for children from birth to age 13. The annual data provided will be used to describe state and territory priorities and strategies to key stakeholders, including Congress, Federal, state and territory administrators, providers, parents, and the public.  

Specifically, this report will:  1) Provide transparency for and contribute to oversight of the use of CCDF quality funds, including a set-aside for quality infant and toddler care and COVID relief funding; 2) track progress toward meeting state- and territory-set indicators and benchmarks for improvement of child care quality based on goals and activities described in FFY2022- FY2024 CCDF Plans; 3) summarize state and territory efforts towards meeting the developmental needs of children in all child care settings; and 4) inform federal technical assistance efforts and decisions regarding strategic use of quality funds.

Data collected in the QPR, including estimated amounts spent on each quality activity, will not be used to determine compliance with minimum quality expenditure requirements included in the CCDBG Act of 2014 and CCDF Final Rule. Compliance with spending requirements is determined using expenditure data reported in the ACF-696 CCDF Financial Reporting Form.  

Because state and territorial activities vary based on each lead agency’s program, the Office of Child Care (OCC) recognizes that the data may not be comparable across states and territories. The OCC intends to work with the states and territories to gather any additional contextual information necessary in order to fully understand these data.

Background

Lead agencies are required to spend a certain percentage of their CCDF total expenditures on certain activities. In FFY 2024, states and territories were required to spend nine percent of the aggregate amount of Mandatory, Discretionary, and the Federal and State shares of Matching funds on quality activities and three percent on activities to improve the supply and quality of care for infants and toddlers. They are required to invest these funds in at least one of 10 allowable quality activities included in the CCDBG Act of 2014. In order to ensure that states and territories are meeting these requirements, the CCDBG Act of 2014 and its regulations require lead agencies to submit an annual report that describes how quality funds were expended, including the activities funded and the measures used to evaluate progress in improving the quality of child care programs and services. States and territories are also required to report on quality improvement investments through the CCDF Plan (which collects information on the proposed activities for a three-year period) and through the ACF-696 financial report (which collects quarterly expenditure data on quality activities).

In the QPR, lead agencies are asked about the extent to which the state or territory met their measurable indicators of progress as reported in the FFY 2022-20224 CCDF Plans and to provide available data on the results of those activities. Because there is flexibility in administering the CCDF program, it is expected that lead agencies may not have information and data available to respond to all questions. Lead agencies may provide narrative updates in the data sections, including any plans for reporting data in the future, if actual data is not currently available.

Revisions

One change was made to the QPR form for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2024 to remove Section 13 regarding American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Stabilization grants.

Guidance

State and territorial lead agencies are required to complete and submit the QPR (ACF-218) for FFY 2024 (October 1, 2023-September 30, 2024). Lead agencies will use an online submission tool (CARS) to enter and submit their QPR to ACF via the Web. This electronic submission (“e-submission”) process has allowed ACF to embed the guidance and definitions directly into the QPR document and in the e-submission site.  

The QPR gathers basic data on the state and territory goals for quality improvement and on the number of programs and providers benefiting from quality improvement investments. The report is organized according to the 10 authorized uses of quality funds specified in the CCDBG Act of 2014, as included in Sections 6 and 7 of the FFY 2022-2024 CCDF Plan:

  1. Support the training and professional development of the child care workforce.
  2. Improve the development or implementation of early learning and development guidelines.
  3. Develop, implement, or enhance a tiered quality rating and improvement system for child care providers.
  4. Improve the supply and quality of child care programs and services for infants and toddlers.
  5. Establish or expand a statewide system of child care resource and referral services.
  6. Facilitate compliance with lead agency requirements for licensing, inspection, monitoring, training, and health and safety.
  7. Evaluate and assess the quality and effectiveness of child care programs, including how programs positively impact children.
  8. Support child care providers in the voluntary pursuit of accreditation.
  9. Support the development or adoption of high-quality program standards related to health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, and physical development.
  10. Carry out other activities to improve the quality of child care services supported by outcome measures that improve provider preparedness, child safety, child well-being, or kindergarten entry.

All sections of the QPR cover the FFY activities (October 1 through September 30), unless otherwise stated. Data should reflect the cumulative totals for the FFY being reported unless otherwise stated. In cases where point in time data is used or only partial data exists, lead agencies should provide an explanatory note and describe what the data represents.  

Lead Agencies should report on the type of funding sources used to support activities described in each section, including: CCDF quality funds, non-CCDF funds (described below), and ARP Act Supplemental Discretionary funds. Territories should also include information on quality activities supported by Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, and ARP Act Stabilization 10% set-aside funds. Lead Agencies must also report the total dollar amount of funds spent from all funding sources in aggregate for each of the authorized uses of quality funds. While the OCC recognizes that spending amounts are estimates, they should be close to the actual amount spent.

Lead Agencies may use data collected by other government and nongovernment agencies (e.g., child care resource and referral agencies (CCR&R) or other technical assistance providers) in addition to their own data as appropriate. The scope of this report covers quality improvement activities funded at least in part by CCDF in support of CCDF activities. If non-CCDF funds (e.g., TANF funds spent directly on quality, Preschool Development Grant 0-5 funds, state or local funds) were used in support of CCDF requirements or allowable quality activities (e.g., early learning and development guidelines), this information should be reported whether or not the funds were administered by the CCDF lead agency. Each report section includes a question about whether other, non-CCDF funds were used to support each activity.

Lead Agencies must describe their progress in meeting their stated measurable indicators of progress for improving the quality of child care as reported in their FFY 2022-2024 CCDF Plan. Lead Agencies should reference outcomes determined by the measurable indicators of progress specified in the FFY 2022-2024 CCDF Plan, including examples and numeric targets where possible, or describe barriers to achieving outcomes. The OCC recognizes that data requested in the QPR will provide only part of the picture of state and territory activities to improve the quality of child care and that activities and goals may have changed from the FFY 2022-2024 CCDF Plan. If changes occurred during FFY 2024 (i.e., within this QPR time period), the Lead Agency should describe the new goal and progress toward meeting this newly described goal in the QPR. To support Lead Agency reporting on progress updates, CARS will auto-populate the measurable indicators described in the FFY 2022-2024 CCDF Plan for each relevant QPR section.

Lead agencies must also submit an annual report (Section 12 of the QPR), as required at 45 CFR § 98.53(f)(4), describing any changes to state or territory regulations, enforcement mechanisms, or other state or territory policies addressing health and safety based on an annual review and assessment of serious child injuries and any deaths occurring in child care programs receiving CCDF and in other regulated and unregulated child care centers and family child care homes, to the extent possible.  

Reporting Changes in the FFY 2024 QPR

The content (i.e., what Lead Agencies need to report on) from the FFY 2023 QPR has not been changed, other than the removal of Section 13 on ARP Act Stabilization grants.

The form and instructions include a glossary section for uniform reporting. For any term not defined in the glossary, Lead Agencies will use their own definition of terms to complete the QPR and describe that definition. When using state or territory specific acronyms, the acronym must be spelled out. Additional term reminders and clarifications:

  • The definitions of “teacher” and “family child care provider” include assistants/aides.
  • In item 2.1.3, provide a count of the registry “participants” described in item 2.1.1. 
  • In Section 4, Lead Agencies should report on their own transparent system of quality indicators even if they do not have a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) or do not call it a QRIS even if that is not explicitly stated in the question.  Programs that do not have a QRIS rating (because they are not participating OR because the state/territory does not have a QRIS) but are participating in a quality improvement initiative should consider this as “operating another system of quality improvement.”
  • When reporting spending amount in Section 5, CCDF quality spending amount should not include required 3 percent infant and toddler set-aside.
  • When referring to “providers” in item 11.1, please report on the full range of providers who may have received funding even if they are not usually part of the subsidy system.  

Submission Deadline

The due date for lead agencies to report QPR activities for FFY2024 is January 31, 2025.  

E-Submission

Lead agencies will submit the QPR via electronic submission (“e-submission”) using the Child Care Automated Reporting System (CARS) . This online tool reflects the approved QPR (ACF-218). In addition to this guidance, OCC will provide additional technical assistance for completing the QPR via the e-submission website.

General Resources for Completing the QPR

Inquiries

Please direct any questions to the Child Care Regional Program Manager in the appropriate ACF Regional Office.  Contact information can be found on the OCC website.

 

 

 /s/
______________________________
Ruth Friedman, Ph.D.
Director
Office of Child Care

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