Introduction
Research Questions
- How can the CCDF Policies Database be used in COVID-19 research?
The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) provides federal money to States and Territories to subsidize the cost of child care for families with low incomes. The detailed policies used to administer the programs vary widely across jurisdictions, with States and Territories establishing different policies for family eligibility, family copayments, provider payment rates, and provider eligibility requirements.
The CCDF Policies Database tracks the detailed State and Territory policies. This fact sheet demonstrates how to use the database search tool (https://ccdf.urban.org/search-database ), and it provides examples of policies available from the database. The fact sheet includes a map showing whether States and Territories made changes to job search policies during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The database is maintained by the Urban Institute.
Purpose
The CCDF Policies Database project produces a comprehensive, up-to-date database of CCDF policies for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories and outlying areas. The database contains hundreds of variables designed to capture CCDF policies across time, allowing users to access policy information for a specific point in time as well as to see how and when policies change over time.
There are several ways to access this public data source (all available at https://ccdf.urban.org ), including through:
- An online search tool (as demonstrated in this fact sheet)
- Annual reports that present selected policies from the database each year
- Briefs that summarize key policy areas
- Full data files that provide the entire set of data
This factsheet demonstrates how to access data through the online search tool. The data can then be used in several different ways, including:
- For users' own analysis
- For quick access to summary information
- For information on policies for a single State or Territory
- To see how one State’s policies compare with other States’ policies
Key Findings and Highlights
The policies shown in the fact sheet were obtained from the CCDF Policies Database online search tool. The search tool allows users to make selections and produce their own custom tables.
Tables can be produced for:
- Hundreds of policy variables
- All of the States and Territories
- Any date between October 2009 and the most recent data release
- Different levels of detail (such as policies for different areas of the state or different types of providers)
Methods
The information in the database, and thus the information in the fact sheet, is based primarily on the documents that caseworkers use as they work with families and providers (often termed “caseworker manuals”). The initial set of manuals coded for the database reflected policies in effect on or before October 1, 2009. Ongoing policy updates have been collected since that point to capture policy changes when they occur in each State and Territory.
Citation
Dwyer, Kelly, Sarah Minton, and Danielle Kwon. (2022). Using the CCDF Policies Database: Changes to Job Search Policies Due to COVID-19. OPRE Report 2022-151, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- CCDBG:
- Child Care and Development Block Grant
- CCDF:
- Child Care and Development Fund