The Child Care and Development Fund: What CCR&Rs Should Know

Thanks to the strong advocacy efforts of our network, on March 23, Congress passed the FY 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which included a $2.4 billion increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the largest discretionary funding increase in history. The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG) authorized the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) and is administered by states, territories, and tribes. States use CCDF to provide financial assistance to low-income families to access child care so they can work or attend a job training or educational program. States can also use CCDF dollars to invest in improving quality through teacher workforce, supporting child care programs to achieve higher standards, and providing consumer education to help parents select child care that meets their families’ needs.

This new investment in CCDBG better positions early childhood providers to meet the needs of children and families through the authorization of the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF).

We, at Child Care Aware® of America, are here to support states develop strategies to best develop early childhood systems and state plans. Our experts are here to answer your questions and provide guidance in a variety of different areas, including: Advocacy; CCR&Rs & State CCR&R Networks: Policy & Practice Strategies; Consumer Education and Engagement; Disaster Preparedness and Relief; Federal Policy; Health and Safety; National Technical Assistance Centers; Professional Development; QRIS; and Research and Mapping.

We are pleased to announce that our CCDBG Implementation Resources suite is now available to help guide our states and CCR&Rs on how to use the Child Care and Development Funds (CCDF) in your state.

Our resources include:

• Background on CCDBG and how it affects YOU
• Web Resources to help you with implementation
• One-on-one consultations with our experts

We are also offering a member webinar on how to best implement CCDF on June 28 (members, please check your inboxes). A recording of the webinar will be made available to all on the website.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published the final State/Territory Child Care and Development Fund Preprint Plan for FY 2019-2021 on June 8 and has extended the plan submission deadline to August 31, 2018 and we are here to help until that deadline.

In the coming weeks, ACF will issue more information on the submission process. Child Care Aware® of America will continue to provide resources, including direct staff consultations, to assist you in working with your state administrators on finalizing your state plan in accordance to FY 2019-2021 Preprint.