The White House has announced for the first time in over 50 years, it will host a Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health this September. The White House is seeking input to shape their anti-hunger plan from a broad, diverse group of stakeholders whose communities are affected by hunger. Your input is needed to shape the nation’s strategy for addressing hunger. Read more below on how you can weigh in on the impacts of hunger and child care to shape the priorities announced at upcoming conference.

This blog provides an update on how states are using the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funds as of January 2022. The ARP Act allocated $39 billion in dedicated child care relief funding to states, with funds reaching states in spring 2021. This funding is broken down into two distinct streams: 

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act allocated $39 billion in dedicated child care relief funding to states. The ARP Act funds began to flow to states during spring 2021, with the intention to get funds out the door and provide relief to providers and families as quickly as possible.  

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program is a state and federal partnership used to provide assistance to low-income families to access child care, as well as build supply and improve program quality. Since 2016, states, territories and tribes have been required to outline how they will use this dedicated federal funding over a three-year period. Plans cover a multitude of areas, including how states will promote family engagement and consumer outreach, ensure equal program access, establish health and safety standards, recruit and retain a qualified workforce and support continuous quality improvement.

The pandemic has resulted in state and federal policymakers taking notice of the essential role child care plays. Child care has been prioritized as an issue desperately needing support and has been included in each of the three relief packages to date. But relief funds have only provided temporary solutions for the child care system and are just the beginning of what is needed to recover and rebuild after decades of underfunding. Federal policymakers are listening and are in the midst of considering additional funds to sustain child care long-term.