CCDBG Guidance For ARRA Funds Available

Apr 09, 2009

The Department of Health and Human Services has released guidance for the $2 billion in supplemental funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant made available through the ARRA. The guidance reminds states that the funds are discretionary, and not subject to a federal match, and also notes that funds will be allocated as part of the FY 2009 grants to states, with a two year obligation period. The guidance also lays out the following for the effective date for the supplement not supplant provision:

A State will be considered to have satisfied the supplement not supplant requirement if the State has not made administrative or legislative changes to reduce the amount of general revenue funds for child care assistance to low-income families below the amount the State would have spent under State law and policies in place on the date of enactment of the ARRA. If State general revenue funds for child care assistance fall below this amount it will be presumed to constitute supplantation unless the State can demonstrate that the reduction was not due to the availability of additional Federal funds included in the ARRA and does not violate the non-supplantation requirement. (States that made legislative or policy changes prior to the enactment of the ARRA but implemented these changes after the date of enactment are not considered to have violated the non-supplantation requirement.) States wishing to propose an alternative rationale demonstrating compliance with the non-supplantation requirement should submit a detailed justification in writing to the ACF Child Care Bureau.

The guidance reminds states that the CCDBG funds are to be used to meet the goals of the ARRA; CLASP and NWLC have published a list of policy choices states may wish to adopt to meet these goals. HHS will publish information on state expenditures of the funds on its recovery page.