January 30, 2015
Dear Tribal Leader:
I would like to invite you to attend the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Child Care’s consultation sessions on the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Reauthorization. On November 19th, 2014, President Obama signed the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 into law. The law reauthorizes the CCDF program and makes expansive changes to the program. The changes emphasize the dual goals of promoting families’ economic self-sufficiency by making child care more affordable, and fostering healthy child development and school success by improving the quality of child care. The law makes significant advancements by defining health and safety requirements, outlining policies for continuity of care, and highlighting the importance of quality of care.
While this new law provides a much-needed comprehensive update to the CCDF program, the law does not explicitly indicate the extent to which many provisions apply to Tribes. Therefore, the Office of Child Care would like to consult with Tribal Leaders and their designated representatives before issuing regulations and policy guidance on how these provisions would apply to Tribes. We are attaching to this letter a summary of the new provisions in the law and a draft agenda of tentative topics we would like to discuss.
One particular provision that does apply to Tribes impacts Tribal CCDF funding. The new law establishes a Discretionary set-aside of not less than two percent. The prior law limited the Discretionary set-aside to up to two percent. In light of the needs in tribal communities, I am pleased to announce that we are increasing the Tribal CCDF Discretionary set-aside from two percent to 2.5 percent for FY 2015, which allows Tribes access to an additional $12 million. As part of the upcoming consultation sessions, we would like to seek tribal input on the funding level for future years.
Please let us know if there are any other topics pertaining to the CCDBG Act you would like to discuss. More information on the new law, including frequently asked questions, is available on the OCC website at: /programs/occ/ccdf-reauthorization.
Our first session will be an open dialogue with tribal leaders being held in conjunction with the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Executive Winter Session at:
Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036
Date/Time: February 23, 2015 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (EST)
We are planning to conduct tribal consultation sessions, including two comprehensive in-person sessions and, to accommodate those unable to travel, one comprehensive session and two topical sessions held via conference calls. Once we finalize these sessions, we send further information and post updates the OCC website at: /programs/occ. Tribal leaders and their designees are welcome to attend any and all sessions. We also encourage written questions and testimonies which can be submitted by email address at ccdf.reauthorization@acf.hhs.gov.
The Administration for Children and Families is committed to effective and meaningful consultation with Tribes. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mary Sprague at (202)-401-4831 or mary.sprague@acf.hhs.gov. Thank you for the important work that you do. I look forward to working with you as we move to strengthen child care programs and enhance early childhood development in Tribal communities across the nation.
Sincerely,
/s/
_________________________
Rachel Schumacher
Director
Office of Child Care
cc: Tribal CCDF Administrators
Office of Child Care Regional Program Managers
Lillian Sparks Robinson, Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans
Attachments:
Files
- PDF CCDF Reauthorization Listening Session Invitation (99.92 KB)