By Alycia Hardy & Stephanie Schmit 

As concerns about economic recovery, unemployment, and inflation continue, significant and sustained increases—not decreases—in annual discretionary funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) remain critical. In response to those concerns and the fragile nature of the child care sector after decades of insufficient federal funding, CLASP and other child care advocates across the field have called for a $4.38 billion increase in annual discretionary funding for CCDBG. When added to existing CCDBG funding, this increase would mean a total of $12.4 billion in annual discretionary funding. Under this proposed increase, CLASP estimates that up to 386,000 additional children could gain access to child care assistance.

The need for long-term and sustainable increases for child care remains ever-present—especially now, with most of the federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act expiring this fall and the remaining funds set to fully expire on September 30, 2024. CCDBG is a critical support for families with low incomes. Without access to assistance, many families would likely be unable to afford their current child care costs. As it stands, the program only served 1 in 6 eligible children in 2019 due to limited federal funding. The annual appropriations process is an important opportunity to increase federal investments in programs to respond to increased need and ensure funding keeps up with rising inflation. These increases allow states to make targeted investments in expanding access to care for children, reducing costs for families, and increasing wages for providers.

The following table—listing all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico—provides the actual distribution of grant year (GY) 2023 discretionary funds; the estimated distribution of the proposed $4.38 billion increase in annual discretionary CCDBG funding for fiscal year (FY) 2024; the estimated increase in funding above GY 2023 actual funding; and the estimated number of additional children who could be served with that increase. The increases in funding for states range from an additional $5 million in Wyoming to $482 million in Texas.

>> View the full report and analysis here