Introduction
The purpose of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program is to help families with low incomes gain access to high-quality child care so adults can work and their children can be supported to reach their full potential (CCDF Program Final Rule, 2016). Despite this aim, there remain groups of children and families in the U.S. who are systematically left behind, as evidenced by persistent gaps in child development, school readiness and family economic security. This toolkit provides resources for training and technical assistance (T/TA) providers in the Child Care Technical Assistance Network (CCTAN) to help State, Territory, and Tribal CCDF Lead Agencies take steps towards conducting equity assessments to inform policy design, planning, implementation, and monitoring efforts aiming to close those gaps.
Purpose
The overarching goal of this toolkit is to provide a centralized set of starter resources and tools for T/TA providers to support CCDF Lead Agencies wherever they are on the knowledge-to-action continuum. This toolkit aims to equip T/TA providers with a range of resources to support Lead Agencies wherever they are in their process of conducting CCDF equity assessments, understanding that Lead Agencies will be in different starting places, and will require support in different stages of the process of planning, designing, and conducting CCDF equity assessments.
Key Findings and Highlights
The Toolkit provides tools for and describes how T/TA providers can support CCDF Lead Agencies take steps towards conducting equity assessments by:
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Providing Lead Agencies with a common roadmap for thinking about how CCDF systems can advance equitable child and family outcomes (i.e., a shared “theory of change”).
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Increasing Lead Agency knowledge about how key CCDF system factors or “policy levers” can advance (or hinder) equity. CCDF policy levers are the specific tools that Lead Agencies can use to direct resources, manage, and shape changes to their CCDF systems.
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Ensuring Lead Agencies are informed about the range of methods available for equity impact assessments and policy equity assessments.
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Facilitating discussions with CCDF Lead Agencies to support planning for and taking steps towards equity assessments.
Citation
Hardy, E., Hafford, C., Hernandez, M., Graf, E., & Rev, J. (2023). Child Care and Development Fund Equity Assessment Toolkit. OPRE Report #2023-099. Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- Equity Assessments:
- Foundational tools to supporting informed goal setting, planning, and prioritization of actions for advancing greater equity.
- CCDF Lead Agency:
- The agency within a State, Territory or Tribal Area that is designated to administer the Child Care and Development Fund Program in the agency’s jurisdiction in accordance with applicable Federal laws and regulations and within provisions of the jurisdiction’s CCDF plan.