Child Care Develpment Block Grant Helps States Expand Child Care Efforts

A new report from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), showed the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) has been a valuable resource for states to maintain and expand child care efforts. Receiving an additional $2 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the CCDBG program allocates $255 million dollars to improve the quality of child care while $93.6 million of those funds target infant and toddler care programs.

The NWLC report showed that states are using ARRA child care funds to:

• Maintain and increase access to child care;
• Improve quality rating systems;
• Provide programs with the resources to purchase materials and equipment;
• Provide training and educational development to child care providers;
• Replace TANF funds previously used to support child care efforts; and
• Provide child care assistance for parents searching for work.

With the support of ARRA funding, states across the country are coming up with innovative ways to expand access to high-quality child care. CLASP recently highlighted the state of Virginia's new initiative regarding early child care programs.  Placing a great deal of emphasis on local collaboration, Virginia state leaders have proposed an initiative that will use $1.7 million in economic recovery dollars to address the social, mental, and behavioral needs of infants and toddlers.

For more resources on the Child Care Development Block Grant visit:
State CCDBG Plans to Promote Opportunities for Babies and Toddlers in Care, Center for Law and Social Policy
 
CCDBG: What’s in the Law?, Center for Law and Social Policy

Sign up for CLASP’s Audioconference, Using ARRA Funds for State/Toddler Initiatives

Also, check out PolicyforResults.org's blog post, States Use of ARRA Funds to Support Child Care