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The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the primary federal funding source dedicated to providing child care assistance to low-income families. As a block grant, CCDF gives funding to states, territories, and tribes to provide child care subsidies through vouchers or certificates to low-income families, and grants and contracts with providers in some states. CCDF provides access to child care services for low-income families so parents can work, attend school, or enroll in training. Additionally, CCDF promotes the healthy development of children by improving the quality of early learning and afterschool experiences. In November 2014, Congress acted on a bipartisan basis to pass the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 (Public Law (Pub.L.) 113-186) into law and reauthorized the CCDF program through fiscal year (FY) 2020. In September 2016, the Office of Child Care (OCC) within the Department of Health and Humans Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a CCDF final rule (81 F.R. 67438) to provide clarity to states, territories, and tribes on how to implement the CCDBG Act.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act requires an annual report on whether States use CCDF funding in accordance with provisions related to priority for services. The law requires priority for children of families with very low incomes and children with special needs. CCDF regulations add a priority for services for children who are experiencing homelessness.