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Funders and policymakers ensure sufficient investment in child care, from all sources, to support high-quality care for all families, especially those whose children are at highest risk.
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| The largest federal program supporting child care services for low-income families is the Child Care and Development Block Grant. States that receive these funds must establish child care standards, including health and safely requirements, that are applicable to all types of child care providers. www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ccb/
The federal Head Start program funds over 2000 local child care providers who serve low-income families with children ages 3-5 with comprehensive early childhood development. Services encompass education, health, nutrition, social and emotional development, and parent involvement, all of which are intended to prepare children for school entry. Local programs are center-based, home-based, or some combination. All Head Start services must meet quality standards established by federal law and regulations. www.headstartinfo.org. A companion program, Early Head Start, serves low-income infants and toddlers. www.ehsnrc.org | |
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States and the federal government expand child care subsidies through all available mechanisms, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant and TANF funds, to:
- Enable all families to afford high-quality, out-of-home care
- Make subsidies easy for parents to obtain (e.g., through annual eligibility determinations, mail-in applications) · Allow choice of providers
- Retain the child's subsidy on terms that promote continuity of care, even if family circumstances change
States and the federal government fully fund programs that directly provide high-quality child care combined with early education and supportive services, including Head Start and Early Head Start. States support preschool programs, supplement Head Start and Early Head Start, subsidize child care, and provide block grants to localities.
Policymakers and funders ensure that investments in child care are made on terms that support high quality services. Toward this end, they:
- Ensure that child care providers have decent wages, benefits, and other incentives to minimize staff turnover and maximize staff continuity
- Ensure that child care staff receive all income and work support for which they are eligible
- Facilitate continuous child care coverage for families using subsidized child care programs, Head Start, Early Head Start, publicly funded preschool, and pre-Kindergarten programs
- Support quality improvements, including professional development and training, program accreditation and licensing, technical assistance, monitoring, and enforcement of standards
- Ensure that as public subsidies increase, an increasing proportion of funds are set aside for improving the quality of child care
- Make direct operating support available to ensure that programs that meet quality standards can develop and sustain stable, high-quality services
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| The Kansas Early Head Start Expansion provides early, continuous, and intensive child development and family support services to low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers. It uses the state’s TANF Block Grant and federal program funds to enable grantees to offer early, continuous services to three-year-old children who would not otherwise receive Head Start services until age four. The program also delivers services through home visits, center-based child care, and family child care providers. Early Head Start programs make money available to their child care partners for equipment and supplies needed to meet federal standards, and program staff make weekly visits to provide guidance. | |
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- Provide specialized capital and technical support for the construction and renovation of physical facilities used to provide high-quality child care in low-income communities
- Encourage a full array of supports (e.g., scholarships, career ladders, compensation enhancements), training, and professional development for all child care providers, including home-based caregivers
- Make support available for child care information and referral networks · Provide at least six months of child care subsidies as transition supports when families leave welfare, without additional application or recertification requirements
- Enable parents to retain child care subsidies on terms that promote continuity of care, even if the family's economic circumstances change
Public and private funders give small grants to marginal providers to purchase health and safety equipment, books, and toys. Funders support the creation of mobile toy and book lending services to help isolated and financially constrained child care providers obtain resources for themselves and the children they serve.
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| IFF is a community lender that provides low-interest loans and technical assistance to non-profits, including child care providers, for facilities renovation and construction. The Fund pulls together the public- and private-sector resources and expertise necessary to support capital improvements. Partners include the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, the City of Chicago, national and local foundations, financial institutions, community development corporations, and child care providers. www.iff.org | |
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Funders make it possible for programs to use multiple funding streams to build ongoing consultation into their daily work and their professional development activities. They provide resources to coordinate governance activities and to form links among systems that provide child care, health care, mental health, substance abuse, developmental assessment, and child protection.
Funders support the development of a continuum of services and supports, including coordination between part-day Head Start and pre-K programs, early education programs, and the child care subsidy system. They encourage the appropriate state and community governance bodies to collaboratively (and continually) assess child care needs and expand child care capacity, including through infant/toddler centers and family child care settings.
Policymakers act to expand the number and proportion of parents of young children, especially infants and toddlers, who are able to choose between taking paid parental leave and obtaining child care that is nurturing, trustworthy, and affordable.
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