Child Care Subsidies: Supporting Work And Child Development For Healthy Families

By Gina Adams, Julia R. Henly

(EXCERPT)

A 2019 CLASP report describes many reasons for observed delays in implementation of these and other new CCDBG provisions. The reasons include competing priorities, resource constraints, governance structures, and data limitations.

To understand the full implications of the law for children’s health and well-being, it is also important to consider unanticipated consequences. For example, there is concern that some states may ultimately serve fewer children overall due to increased per child costs related to twelve-month eligibility. Relatedly, if states face financial or other difficulties in delivering preservice health and safety trainings and complying with new monitoring requirements, especially in home-based settings, the new law may inadvertently contribute to a decline in the availability of subsidized home-based care and limit the ability of parents to use subsidies in these settings. This is of particular concern for families that have traditionally been less able to access centers, such as those with precarious work schedules. These issues raise concerns about whether the new law may negatively affect access to subsidies, a key work support.

 

Read the full report here. 

Source URL: https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hpb20200327.116465/full/