Small Increase In National Child Care Spending In 2006

Oct 02, 2008

On October 1, the Child Care Bureau released FY 2006 CCDBG expenditure data, covering the period of October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.  According to the data, CCDBG spending declined slightly from $9.38 billion in 2005 to $9.32 billion in 2006 in state and federal CCDBG funds (which includes TANF transfers to CCDBG). The number of children served with CCDBG funds increased slightly to 1.8 million children. (In FY 2006, states received an additional $200 million in federal matching funds as a result of the Deficit Reduction Act.)

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) previously released FY 2006 TANF financial data. As we posted previously, federal TANF funds used for child care declined for the sixth consecutive year. TANF transfers to CCDBG totaled $1.9 billion and TANF funds spent directly on child care totaled $1.2 billion for a total of $3.1 billion in TANF funds used for child care in 2006 (Down from $3.2 billion in 2005). State TANF MOE spent on child care, however, increased to $2.3 billion. Data on the number of children served by TANF funds are not available.

Based on these two data sets, overall spending on child care (including federal and state CCDBG and TANF funds) increased by approximately 2 percent from $11.7 billion in 2005 to nearly $12.0 billion in 2006. (This includes federal and state CCDBG expenditures, TANF direct, and TANF MOE in excess of CCDBG MOE expenditures.)  The increase is the result of increased state TANF MOE spending on child care.

CLASP preliminary analysis shows major declines in spending in New York ($122 million), Tennessee ($92 million), and Louisiana ($35 million) and increases in Ohio ($90 million), Kentucky ($88 million), Pennsylvania ($57 million), and New Jersey ($48 million).

CLASP will be writing an analysis highlighting national and state trends and will be updating state-by-state child care spending profiles with the 2006 data.