Child Care Aware® of America Releases Findings of 2019 Annual State Survey on Child Care
State fact sheets provide high-level analysis and national roll-ups of the child care landscape at the state level and show an alarming decline in family child care providers and
inconsistent quality
WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) released the results of its annual state child care survey, Checking in on the Child Care Landscape. The results illustrate the unique child care challenges many states are facing. States are finding an alarming decline in family child care providers as well as a decline in the number of child care providers accepting Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies. These themes, combined with state-specific challenges, mean that care is inaccessible and unaffordable for many families and child care quality is inconsistent across communities. Earlier this month, CCAoA released CCDBG: 2019 State Snapshots, detailing the critical work states are doing using federal funding.
Research tells us that children who participate in high-quality programs experience positive lasting effects, including higher IQ scores, boosted academic and economic achievement, and lower incidences of childhood obesity and chronic illness.
Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) help families find care and conduct outreach and recruitment to grow the supply of child care. They also provide support for child care providers in their states and communities to help retain qualified providers. In addition, CCR&Rs conduct research and provide valuable data about child care in their states, allowing for more accurate descriptions of the unique challenges and opportunities in each community.
Additional findings of the 2019 state survey include:
- The number of family child care providers decreased in 25 states from 2017 to 2018.
- The number of center-based child care providers decreased in 15 states from 2017-2018.
- In 2018, CCR&Rs provided:
- Over 1 million child care referrals
- Consumer education to nearly 200,000 families
- Over 51,000 training sessions to child care providers
- More than 16,000 referrals to child care for children with special needs
- Over 35,000 referrals to nonstandard hours child care providers
In addition to facing challenges accessing safe, quality child care, families find it difficult to pay for care that meets their needs. CCDF subsidy recipients face additional barriers as they are forced to choose between their child care subsidy or professional development; families lose their subsidy if their household income exceeds the eligibility threshold by as little as $100.
“Last year’s historic $2.4 billion increase for the Child Care Development Block Grant was an excellent step forward, but additional investment is required to meet the child care needs of working families and to prioritize the child care workforce, both of which are primary areas of focus for CCR&Rs,” said Dr. Lynette M. Fraga, Executive Director of CCAoA. “Families like Alexis’, who we feature in this year's overview of the survey findings, are facing a child care crisis. With sufficient funding for CCR&Rs, we can optimize the possibilities for a stronger national system and better meet the needs of children, families and communities. Investments in child care systems at the state level show high returns for the entire community. We look forward to Congress’ continued action to support families and CCR&Rs across the country.”
CCDF is a federal program that helps families with low incomes, families receiving temporary public assistance and those transitioning from public assistance find and afford quality child care. Dwindling funding for child care subsidies has exacerbated these challenges for many families.
Methodology: In January 2019, Child Care Aware® of America surveyed state CCR&R Networks and other key stakeholders in each state. The overall purpose of the 101-item survey was to gather annual data about child care in each state in 2018, which is reported in our State Fact Sheets and “The U.S. and the High Cost of Child Care” reports released in the fall. For states that did not respond to the survey, child care capacity and price data were pulled from publicly accessible databases and market rate surveys.
To learn more about Child Care Aware® of America’s advocacy efforts, visit childcareworks.org or follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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About Child Care Aware® of America
Child Care Aware® of America is our nation’s leading voice for child care. CCAoA works with state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) and other community partners to ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable child care. CCAoA leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, offers comprehensive training to child care professionals, undertakes research, and advocates for child care policies that improve the lives of children and families. To learn more, visit usa.childcareaware.org. Follow CCAoA on Twitter @USAChildCare and on Facebook at facebook.com/usachildcare.
