Overview
Access to stable high-quality CCEE is beneficial for families and children. For families, access to CCEE is important because it allows them to work or continue their education. For children, high-quality CCEE can provide safe and enriching environments that support the development of their cognitive, language, and social-emotional skills. Positive relationships between children and adults in CCEE settings can help build a sense of security and safety and prepare children for future relationships. Yet the cost of high-quality CCEE is unattainable for some families. Child care subsidies can ease the cost burden for families and allow them to access high-quality care that may not have been affordable otherwise.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 provides formula-based grants to states, territories, and Tribes to administer child care subsidies to eligible families, typically through vouchers that can be used to attend CCEE programs. Families using subsidies must demonstrate their eligibility at regular intervals, a process associated with disruptions in their use of subsidies. Improving the stability of subsidies is important for children and their families as frequent or prolonged lapses of subsidy use can make it harder for children to stay in the same CCEE program, which can negatively affect a child’s development and parents’ ability to work or go to school.
To help promote subsidy stability, among other goals, the federal government passed the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 and associated Final Rule in 2016, which contained important changes to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program. One of the changes specified that families should go at least a year before being asked to document that they are still eligible to receive subsidies (i.e., 12-month eligibility period). Research has addressed various aspects of CCEE subsidies, including subsidy stability, and additional research is emerging about how the CCDF policy changes affect families’ experiences using subsidies.
Purpose
The purpose of this highlight is to describe key findings from a research review on subsidy stability. The highlight defines key terms and provides an illustrative example, summarizes research on subsidy stability, describes potential administrative and policy obstacles that may make it harder for families to use subsidies, and shares resources for CCEE leaders interested in improving their subsidy programs. This information is particularly relevant for CCDF subsidies but is also applicable for other child care subsidy programs, such as state and local subsidy or scholarship programs.
Key Findings and Highlights
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Stable use of subsidies is an important factor for helping children stay in the same child care and early education (CCEE) program (i.e., continuity of care), which research shows can support children’s development and better meet the needs of families.
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Policies that extend subsidy eligibility periods are associated with subsidy stability. Research about barriers to implementing these policies may point to solutions that CCEE leaders can use to help ensure that families experience the full benefits of child care subsidies.
Resources
CCEE leaders can assess their implementation of CCDF policies to help them think about how they can create a more streamlined and equitable subsidy system for families. Here are a few resources related to subsidies:
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The Child Care and Development Fund Policies Database houses Lead Agency policies around family eligibility, application and redetermination, priorities and waiting lists, family payments, provider requirements, and reimbursement rates.
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The Urban Institute (PDF) has outlined seven ways states can make the child care subsidy system more accessible and equitable (e.g., talk with parents and providers to identify subsidy barriers, align and integrate policies across programs, examine the quality and efficiency of customer services).
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Assessing Child Care Subsidies through an Equity Lens: A Review of Policies and Practices in the Child Care and Development Fund (PDF) examines families’ experiences of the subsidy process to learn how practices and policies in place create equitable access for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families. The report then examines whether practices and policies help address barriers to equitable access to different care options. States can use this resource to review their subsidy policies and practices through an equity lens.
Quick Fact Images
Example of subsidy spells in action:
Note: Figure adapted from Child Care Subsidy Stability Literature Review, 2019 (PDF).
Figure 1. Subsidy eligibility and spell length in Illinois, before and after October 2018
Source: Figure adapted from Illinois’ example from “Do longer eligibility periods lead to more stable care for kids?” (2022). Urban Institute webinar. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/training-technical-assistance/webinar-do-longer-eligibility-periods-lead-more-stable-care-kids.
Citation
CCEEPRA Research Translation (2023). Research on the Stability of Child Care Subsidies for Children and Families. OPRE Report #2023-240. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Related Documents
Glossary
- Subsidy spell:
- The amount of uninterrupted time a family is using a subsidy.
- Subsidy stability:
- The duration of time a family uses child care subsidies which may include multiple subsidy spells. While exiting and returning to the subsidy system is quite common, frequently exiting the subsidy system can lead to subsidy instability.
- CCEE arrangement stability (or continuity of care):
- A period of uninterrupted care despite requirements to redetermine eligibility or changes in family or care circumstances.
- Redetermination:
- The process through which families receiving subsidies must prove their continued eligibility. Subsidy administrators determine when families must update their information with their subsidy office.