Update: On May 27, Democratic Senators and Representatives introduced the bicameral Child Care is Essential Act, which would dedicate $50 billion in relief to the child care industry. The Child Care is Essential Act would use the same general funding mechanism as the CARES Act, which means the state-by-state allocations in this fact sheet are accurate estimates.

The impact of the pandemic on child care has already been extensive, and the system is struggling to survive. The federal government should allocate $50 billion in relief funds for child care in the next coronavirus package. Our analysis shows how a $50 billion allocation would be distributed across states to sustain the child care sector during the COVID-19 crisis if the Child Care and Development Block Grant state allocation formula utilized in the distribution of the CARES Act funds were used to allocate this funding.