Final Rule

• Final Rule Implementing CCDBG Act of 2014 Includes Important Provisions to Support Low-Income Families

Reauthorization and Implementation Resources

On November 19, 2014, with broad bipartisan support, Congress reauthorized CCDBG, the major federal child care program, for the first time since 1996. The new law strengthens CCDBG’s dual role as both a major early childhood education program and a work support for low-income families. Key provisions in the new law support the following goals:

• Protecting the health and safety of children in care through more consistent standards and monitoring of standards.
• Improving the quality of care, including through increased supports for child care providers.
• Enabling families to more easily access child care assistance that supports stable and continuous care and that can be coordinated with other programs.

CLASP/NWLC CCDBG Implementation Guide

• Implementing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization: A Guide for States. This guide, written jointly by CLASP and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), is designed to help policymak­ers and advocates gain a better understanding of what is entailed in fully implementing the law. It summarizes and analyzes key sections of the law, offering recommendations and cautions for states. It also includes a detailed chart compar­ing specific provisions of the new law with those of the previous law, an implementation timeline, a checklist indicating state compliance with select provisions of the law, a summary of the law, and state-by-state information on CCDBG funding and children served.
• Implementing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization: State by State Fact Sheets. This series of fact sheets from CLASP and NWLC summarize state-specific information related to CCDBG’s requirements in each state as outlined in the implementation guide.
• Webinar: Implementing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization. Provides a broad overview of CCDBG reauthorization opportunities; discusses the context for CCDBG reauthorization in states; and offers ideas and strategies to get started planning for CCDBG implementation.
• This document provides questions and answers to CCDBG reauthorization questions received on the April 15th webinar.
• Webinar: How the New CCDBG Law Could Impact Low Wage Workers. This webinar, co-hosted by NWLC and CLASP, covers critical information about the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) reauthorization law currently being implemented by states, looking closely at provisions of the new CCDBG law that most impact low-wage workers.

Additional Resources

CLASP Resources on CCDBG reauthorization and related topics:

• An Introduction to CCDBG Reauthorization. This presentation provides a brief introduction to the CCDBG reauthorization which establishes new requirements for states and seeks to improve the health, safety, and quality of child care and allows families improved access to child care assistance.
• Job Hours and Schedules: Implications for State Child Care and Development Fund Policies. This brief discusses how recent trends related to job schedules and subsidy policies provide an opportunity for states to make changes in eligibility and verification policies related to child care subsidy.
• Child Care Assistance: A Vital Support for Working Families. This fact sheet, designed for advocates, provides an overview of the research showing why child care assistance is so important to low-income, vulnerable families.
• Comments on the FY 2016-2018 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) State/Territory Plan Preprint. CLASP and NWLC submitted general comments and recommendations to the Administration for Children and Families for the FY 2016-2018 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) preprint.
• Federal Legislation to Improve Job Schedules and Child Care Access for Low-Wage Workers. This fact sheet highlights key provisions of the Schedules that Work Act and CCDBG Act of 2014 that would improve access to child care for parents with volatile schedules (Nov 19, 2014).
• Confronting the Child Care Eligibility Maze: Simplifying and Aligning with Other Work Supports. This report helps states confront burdensome administrative processes that make it difficult for low-income families to get and keep child care benefits, and the cumulative challenges clients face in trying to access other benefits for which they are eligible (i.e. SNAP/Medicaid).
• Audio Conference: Job Schedules: Child Care and Subsidies. Recording and transcript of audio conference on volatile work schedules and access to child care subsidies (Nov 19, 2014).
• Audio Conference: Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014. Experts from CLASP, NWLC, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) discuss the House-passed CCDBG bill, which was later approved by the Senate and signed into law (Oct 2, 2014).

Find more CLASP publications and resources on child care subsidies here.

Additional Resources

• Text of CCDBG Act of 2014 (S. 1086). Reauthorizes the CCDBG program under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (CCDBG Act) through FY 2020 at specified levels.
• Office of Child Care Reauthorization Resources. The Office of Child Care has compiled and is frequently updating a list of key resources regarding the 2014 CCDBG Act.
• NWLC House Passed Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014: Summary. This fact sheet summarizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 2014.
• NWLC Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization: Changes To Previous Law. This chart compares the prior version of the law governing CCDBG with provisions of the reauthorization law.
• NWLC Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization: Implementation Timeline. Outlines the timing of various provisions included in the CCDBG reauthorization.
• NWLC Child Care and Development Block Grant: Cost Estimates for Reauthorization. This fact sheet details the costs of CCDBG legislation.

CLASP is available to provide technical assistance on CCDBG to policymakers and advocates. Please contact Hannah Matthews or Christine Johnson-Staub.