Resource Library

On July 27, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a formal request for information (RFI) on the child care requirements, regulations, and processes for Tribal Nations that administer the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program.

The purpose of this program instruction is to

1. To provide information to state, territory, and tribal lead agencies regarding the distribution of child care disaster recovery funds, and
2. To provide guidance on allowable activities, how to apply, obligating and expending funds, reporting requirements, recipient monitoring, and other requirements. 

These are frequently asked questions about the NPRM for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations (45 CFR Part 98).

This Technical Bulletin lists the data standards for Part 3: American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Stabilization Grants of the ACF-700 CCDF Tribal Annual Report and clarifies some frequently asked questions about this section of the report. Part 3 was added to the ACF-700 Report to capture data on the distribution and use of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Stabilization Grants beginning with the 2021 Federal fiscal year. The ARP Act included funding for child care grants to stabilize the child care sector and build back a stronger child care system that best supports the families and providers. Tribal Lead Agencies were required to spend stabilization funds to support the stability of the child care sector during and after the COVID-19 public health emergency. Part 3 of the ACF-700 form should include information about the ARP stabilization grants awarded to providers during the Federal fiscal year.

The Office of Child Care invites public comment on the rules and regulations of the Tribally administered Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program as part of the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) commitment to creating partnerships with Tribal Nations to identify and implement solutions that transcend traditional program boundaries. As part of that commitment, OCC seeks input on the requirements, regulations, and processes for Tribal Nations that administer CCDF. This Request for Information (RFI) specifically seeks public comment on the following topics of the Tribal child care program—CCDF Funding Policies for Tribes, CCDF Administration, Improving Families' Access to Child Care, and Increasing Child Care Supply in Tribal Communities—but input on any aspect of the Tribally administered CCDF program is welcome. OCC will host a Tribal consultation during the RFI public comment period.

Resources

• Review the Tribal RFI in the Federal Register
• Review the Tribal RFI Factsheet
• View the Tribal RFI Consultation page for information on registration, hotels, and other information.

Webinars

• OCC Tribal RFI National Webinar
• Tribal RFI Listening Session for Families and Providers slides (PDF)
• Review the OCC National RFI Webinar slides (PDF)
• Review the RFI: Meeting the Child Care Needs of Tribal Nations Listening Session for Tribal Lead Agencies Webinar Slides (PDF)

Plain Language Summaries

• Review the Tribal RFI Plain Language Summary on CCDF Funding. This document provides a plain language summary of the Tribal RFI's questions about the triennial child count, service area, allocation sizes and related requirements, the CCDF Tribal Plan, and the discretionary base amount.
• Review the RFI Plain Language Summary on CCDF Administration. This document provides a plain language summary of the RFI's questions about early childhood and related systems coordination, CCDF spending requirements, construction and major renovation, obligation and liquidation deadlines, CCDF reporting requirements and quality activities, Tribal and state coordination.
• Review the RFI Plain Language Summary on Increasing Family Access. This document provides a plain language summary of the RFI's questions about consumer education and child eligibility.
• Review the RFI Plain Language Summary on Building Child Care Supply. This document provides a plain language summary of the RFI's questions about early childhood workforce compensation and qualifications, eligible child care providers, comprehensive background checks, and other areas for comment.

Video Summaries

• Review the Request for Information: Child Care and Development Fund Funding featuring Ruth Friedman video , Director Ruth Friedman provides a brief overview of the purpose, possible impacts, and ways to provide feedback on OCC’s Tribal Request for Information.
• Review the Request for Information: Child Care and Development Fund Funding featuring Sarah Stafford video . Senior Tribal Program Specialist Sarah Stafford provides a brief overview of the topics and questions in the Tribal RFI related to CCDF funding, including the triennial child count, service area, allocation sizes and related requirements, the CCDF Tribal Plan, and the discretionary base amount.
• Review the Request for Information: CCDF Administration featuring Meryl Barofsky & Milton Bluehouse video.  Senior Tribal Program Specialist Meryl Barofsky and Senior Policy Advisor Milton Bluehouse provide a brief overview of the topics and questions in the Tribal RFI related to CCDF administration, including early childhood and related systems coordination, CCDF spending requirements, construction and major renovation, obligation and liquidation deadlines, CCDF reporting requirements and quality activities, Tribal and state coordination.
• Review the Request for Information: Child Care and Development Fund Funding featuring Lisa Fergus video. , Senior Tribal Program Specialist Lisa Fergus provides a brief overview of the topics and questions in the Tribal RFI related to building child care supply, including early childhood workforce compensation and qualifications, eligible child care providers, comprehensive background checks, and other areas for comment.
• Review the Request for Information: Child Care and Development Fund Funding featuring Carly Champagne video . Federal Policy Fellow Carly Champagne provides a brief overview of the topics and questions in the Tribal RFI related to increasing family access to child care, including consumer education and child eligibility.

The purpose of this Bulletin is to clarify questions and issues related to the Tribal Grantee reporting requirements, and to address recent changes to the Tribal Annual Child Care Report (ACF-700).

The purpose of this Technical Bulletin is to clarify reporting issues for Tribal grantees that own and operate a child care center (Tribally Operated Center - TOC) to deliver all or part of their child care services funded by Child Care Development Fund (CCDF). The bulletin addresses frequently asked questions that these grantees have raised with the Office of Child Care (OCC), and with the Child Care Automated Reporting System (CARS) Technical Assistance (TA) Team.

The purpose of this technical bulletin is to clarify issues related to the ACF-700 reporting requirements and to address some of the questions for which tribal grantees have sought assistance from the CARS TA Team.

While ACF welcomes comment on any topic related to the proposed rule, below is a list of key areas within the NPRM where ACF is specifically requesting input from commenters. Please see the instructions on how to submit comments.

These are instructions for submitting comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)  filed on July 13, 2023. This NPRM offers additional draft guidance on program requirements for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program. All interested parties will have 45 days to comment, and ACF will consider all comments before issuing final guidance on program requirements.