Implementing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization: A Guide for States

In November 2014, Congress reauthorized the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal child care program, for the first time since 1996. The law strengthens CCDBG’s role as a major early child education program, as well as a work support program for low-income families. It aims to: protect the health and safety of children in care through more consistent standards and monitoring of those standards, improve the quality of care through increasing support for child care providers, and enable families to easily access child care assistance that can be coordinated with other programs. This implementation guide from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) is intended to help policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders gain a better understanding of the full implementation of the law. It includes summaries of key sections of the reauthorization legislation and recommendations, as well as areas of caution for States. One important aspect of this reauthorization is that it was not accompanied with a guarantee of new federal funds, so in many States, the new law will come with substantial costs.