Issue: School-Age Child Care
Afterschool programs are a critical resource for working families
The Child Care Development Block Grant is a major source of federal funding for afterschool care for school-age children with working parents.
Issue: School-Age Child Care
Afterschool programs are a critical resource for working families
The Child Care Development Block Grant is a major source of federal funding for afterschool care for school-age children with working parents.
Federal Child Care Funds can offer a great opportunity for afterschool and summer programs to tie in to funding, professional development, and quality work while supporting working and training parents and the positive development of children and youth.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), was created in 1990 to provide child care for low-income families as they engage in the workforce. In a 1996 reauthorization, the CCDBG fund was established as part of a larger Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), including mandatory and matching funding components. CCDF gives families access to childcare and afterschool services promoting the learning and development of children up to age 13 (or up to age 19 if incapable of self-care or under court supervision) while parents work or attend training.
Overall, 44% of those receiving CCDF funds are school aged (5 to age 13). Approximately 600,000 school-age children each month receive CCDF assistance for their participation in before-school, afterschool, summer programming or in school-age childcare, with 73% of those served in center-based settings. Most families receiving assistance are given subsidy to purchase care, but there are opportunities for states to offer grants directly to providers to hold slots as well (see Utah for an example).
The CCDBG component of the larger Child Care Development Fund is subject annual discretionary appropriations and states must meet the requirements of the authorizing CCDBG law, most recently reauthorized in 2014, to receive the funds. Visit the Office of Child Care at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for comprehensive information on implementation of the 2014 CCDBG reauthorization.
Important components of the 2014 reauthorization include: health and safety requirements, background checks, licensing, quality supports, and consumer education. More on these areas below after funding. The legislation is currently up for reauthorization.
To apply to receieve CCDF funds through parent subsidy or state grants and contracts, reach out to your state administrative agency.
Funding for CCDBG has increased each year since the 2014 reauthorization[i]. In FY 2024, Discretionary CCDF funding increased by $725 million with a total of $8.75 billion. The continuing resolution for FY 2025 sustained funds at the same $8.75 billion.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5.258 B | $5.826 B | $5.852 B | $6.17 B | $8.02 B | $8.75 B |
States also have the availability to transfer up to 30% of their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to CCDF. Additionally they can use TANF directly for child care programs under one of four eligible uses within the TANF law. See the National Center for Afterschool and Summer Enrichment 2018 brief on Using CCDF and TANF to support Quality Out of School Time, including an example of how Georgia uses TANF to fund afterschool. You can see how some states are using TANF funds for child care with a First Five Years Fund Resource. And you can identify some recent data on your state's unpsent TANF funds in a resource from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
The last Child Care relief funds officially expired September 30,2024. The most recent allotment of relief funds through the American Rescue Plan, had provided $24 billion in stabilization funds and $15 billion in supplemental funds to the field. States have since passed a number of policies to work to sustain some of the benefits to families, the workforce, and providers.
Other State Efforts:
In Feb/March 2024, the Office of Child Care finalized a rule that will have a major effect on the operation of the CCDF program. The rule will cap family co-pays at 7% of their income, pay providers ahead of the time of service, and ensure states use grants and contracts to meet the needs of families in underserved areas. States do have a waiver process if they need more time for rule implementation.
States completed and submitted their 2025-2027 CCDF plans this June. The plans set forth a number of policies in operation in the state as well as how the state plans to approach issues of access, workforce and quality during the 3 years of the plan.
Congress finalized appropriations for FY 2025 on March 14, 2025. The process is now beginning for FY 2026. Read more about the process ahead this year for child care and afterschool funding.
Reconciliaition Process:
Congress is considering exetending and altering tax credit policies including some key policy supports for families with children. Read about it in our blog.
The CCDBG Act, last reauthorized in 2014, has been due for reauthorization for about 4 years. Congress has a few proposals to reauthorize or reform the legislation in the relevant authorizing committee (HELP/HEW) including the Child Care for Working Families Act and the CCDBG Reauthorization Act of 2024. There is additionally a finance committee proposal which has jurisdiction over the mandatory funding component, known as the Child Care For Every Family Act. Currently none of the above proposals has bipartisan support..
At the state level, administration can take place in offices of Health and Human Services, Education, Workforce or other related agencies. Additionally, while some states coordinate many of the functions toward supporting education, subsidy, licensing and care under one umbrella, others maintain multiple governing bodies. In states that do restructure, there may be a push for a more inclusive name such as Indiana’s Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Time Learning and Missouri’s Office of Childhood, to represent the full expanse of young people served outside of solely early education.
Research on high quality afterschool and summer learning shows essential impacts for both young people and their families.
Key issues in school-age child care include licensing, quality standards, workforce development, and program funding streams.
Licensing is mostly determined at the state level. States have great variation in whether the majority of their school-age child care providers are licensed, license-exempt but CCDF eligible, license-exempt, or some other configuration. Licensing is a critical piece of equitable access for families in need of quality school-age care.
Health and safety requirements, staffing, physical space, ongoing professional development and curriculum all can look different for school-age programs. For example, school-age providers are not required in federal law to take safe sleep trainings or to have degrees in Early Education. They may be able to take other age-appropriate health trainings and have more relevant education and experience.
In some states licensing is a basic entry point to participating in the state's quality systems. Additionally, licensing is often a condition for accessing other financial supports – for example states offering workforce wage supplements, or infrastructure supports may offer those to licensed providers. A number of states have been working to ensure school-age licensing is appropriate for the providers, settings and children served.
Quality is a major component of the CCDF program. In addition to a 3% set aside specific to quality spending on infants and toddlers, states are required to set aside at least 9% of their total CCDF allocation for all quality activities. With 44% of those served with CCDF being school-age youth, the impact of state investment in school-age quality could be significant.
State agencies can work with statewide afterschool networks to establish school-age quality frameworks for their state. Quality not only supports positive outcomes and experiences for youth and staff but it is often tied in to increased pay for providers who participate in a quality improvement process.
As part of CCDF law, states must create consumer education databases to help parents navigate the child care system and find the care of their choice. The Afterschool Alliance put together some resources to help view this work from a school-age perspective, this includes including license-exempt school-age providers where applicable, making note of transportation between the school-day and program, and helping parents understand school-age quality if the state does not have a star system for school-age programs.
Timely, low-or-no cost, easy to access background checks can help programs with their operations especially during these times of critical workforce shortages. The National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability put together a brief on some state background check practices.
States can waive copays for families below the poverty level. A 2019 map shows which states had waivers for copays in place at that time. California passed a 2023 law eliminating co-pays for families earning up to 75% of the state median income. The CCDF 2024 Final Rule FAQ document has more about bringing co-pays down to zero. Additionally, an NCASE FAQ on the final rule specifically for school-age programs mentions that states can decide to waive co-pays for particular populations such as children attending 21st CCLC programs (Q1).
The Afterschool/School-Age workforce consists of professionals with a broad range of experience, education, and schedules. Ideally, state policies to support the child care workforce will be sensitive to these differences.
A strong way to support providers to provide slots for families in need is through the use of grants and contracts. The 2024 CCDF Final Rule requires all states to use grants and contracts for slots including for underserved areas.
25 million youth including 9 million low income youth want but lack access to high quality child care programs. CCDBG funding serves about 600,000 youth and 21st CCLC serves around 1 million. In order to more effectively reach all families and youth in need, programs need to braid multiple funding streams and leverage efficiency.
Additional data, resources, and links to other Child Care Groups and Partners
Understanding State School-age Demand Data
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The Afterschool Alliance is working to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs. Afterschool programs are critical to children and families today, yet the need for programs is far from being met. Learn more
