About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-19-222R 1 (2019-02-15)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacsfz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: G A O U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 February 15, 2019 The Honorable Lamar Alexander Chairman The Honorable Patty Murray Ranking Member Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions United States Senate The Honorable Robert C. Bobby Scott Chairman The Honorable Virginia Foxx Ranking Member Committee on Education and Labor House of Representatives Child Care and Development Fund: Subsidy Receipt and Plans for New Funds The federal child care subsidy program known as the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the primary source of federal funding dedicated to assisting low-income families who are working or participating in education and training by increasing their access to quality child care.' In fiscal year 2015, the latest year for which data are publicly available, CCDF provided child care assistance to about 1.4 million children each month.2 Discretionary funding for CCDF is authorized by the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 1990, as amended, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers the funds to states.3 In addition to authorizing funding, the CCDBG Act of 2014 included various 1CCDF is not an entitlement program, which means that states are not required to serve all eligible families who apply for CCDF subsidies; thus some eligible families who apply for subsidies may not receive them. Families who qualify for, but do not receive, CCDF subsidies could still receive public assistance for child care through other federal or state programs such as Head Start or a state's pre-kindergarten program if they meet eligibility requirements. Further, not all eligible families may apply for CCDF subsidies because, as we previously found, several factors influence families' child care decisions that can make it difficult or unappealing to pursue subsidies. See GAO, Child Care: Access to Subsidies and Strategies to Manage Demand Vary Across States, GAO-1 7-60 (Washington, D.C.: Dec. 15, 2016). 2At the time of this report's issuance, preliminary 2016 data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also estimated that about 1.4 million children received child care assistance each month. 3Discretionary CCDF funds are entirely federal funds that are allocated to states based on a statutory formula. See, 42 U.S.C. § 9858m. Under the program, these discretionary funds do not require a state match. CCDF is also made up of mandatory and matching funding, which is authorized under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 618) and administered by HHS. A portion of the mandatory funding is guaranteed to states, without states having to match the funds with state child care spending. To be eligible for its share of the remaining mandatory funds (matching funds), a state must first spend a designated amount of its own state funds. 42 U.S.C. § 61 8(a)(2). Page 1 GAO-19-222R Child Care and Development Fund

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most