State Guidebook for Measuring Progress Toward Equitably Supporting Child Care Stabilization

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major hardships for child care providers and families with young children, leading an already fragile early care and education (ECE) system to the brink of collapse. In particular, Black and Latino families disproportionately faced economic hardships, and Black parents were more likely to report that they were unable to look for work because they could not find child care.

The COVID-19 relief funding for child care from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) included approximately $24 billion for stabilization grants to help ECE programs remain open or reopen and $15 billion for supplemental funding for Child Care Development Block Grant activities. States have had to distribute their child care relief funds relatively quickly. This guide offers an approach that state early childhood system leaders can use to define their child care stabilization goals and measure their progress toward meeting those goals. The guide also illustrates a process for embedding equity and centering the perspectives of families and providers in making decisions about child care stabilization funding.