Child Care Assistance: How Existing Federal Policy Helps Families Afford Child Care

This brief examines CCDF's history, funding structure, eligibility requirements, and participation trends, while highlighting persistent gaps in access for eligible families and declines in provider participation.

August 14, 2026 | |

Equity Matters: What if the Current Fight to Protect Child Care is also an Opportunity to Transform it?

August 13, 2026 | Report/Brief |

Systemic Parent Engagement: From Listening to Leadership

August 13, 2026 | Report/Brief |

The Individualized Education Program Journey: For the Love of a Child: Parental Advocacy in an Underfunded System

High-quality child care and early education builds a foundation for young children’s healthy development. This drives CLASP’s work to promote policies that support healthy child development and family economic stability. We work to expand resources for child care and early education at the federal and state levels and support access to high-quality care that meets families’ diverse needs. We work to more effectively implement proven federal programs—including the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, and Early Head Start—that provide child care subsidies and early learning opportunities to families with low incomes.

Featured Expert:

Stephanie Schmit

Director, Child Care and Early Education

Child Care and Early Education

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The Blueprint for a More Affordable America Already Exists

Child Care Assistance Spending & Participation in 2020

Child care has long been unaffordable and inaccessible for many families. The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), the primary federal funding source to help families with low incomes access child care, is a crucial support for many families across the country. However, Congress has never funded child care at the level needed to serve all eligible families. In fact, the most recent data from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) show that in 2019, only 1 in 6 eligible children had access to assistance.

Child Care Assistance Spending & Participation in 2020