Closing the Gap: How CCR&Rs Can Help Communities Meet Their Child Care Supply and Demand Needs

Families across the U.S. struggle to find quality child care that meets their needs – the supply of child care too often falls short of meeting demand. The reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) in 2014 requires states to track child care supply and demand. The law explicitly names state-funded Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) to conduct this work, due to their extensive knowledge of the topic and their prevalence in states and communities throughout the country.

In our 2019 report, Closing the Gap: How CCR&Rs Can Help Communities Meet Their Child Care Supply and Demand Needs, we examine 15 examples of CCR&Rs and other policy-focused organizations to understand their approaches to closing the gap in child care supply and demand at state and local levels. Some of the findings follow:

• CCR&Rs use data-informed strategies and targeted child care recruitment to frontline families access to care
• They work with providers to ensure they receive training and support
• The agencies support members of the business community through enhanced referrals to help employee succeed.

Fill out the form on this page to view the report, a webinar about the findings, and related handouts.