Promoting Quality Child Care

States and Territories are required to spend at least 4 percent of their CCDF allocation on quality activities. In addition, CCDF also includes targeted funds for quality enhancement, initiatives to improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers, initiatives to improve school-age care, and child care resource and referral services. States use CCDF dollars to fund a variety of innovative efforts to improve the quality of care. Quality activities include provider staff training, grants and loans to providers, health and safety improvements, the monitoring of licensing requirements, and other initiatives. In both fiscal year (FY) 2004 and FY 2005, States spent $920 million in CCDF funds (including State funds and funds transferred from TANF) to improve the quality of child care services, accounting for 10 percent of their combined Federal and State expenditures.

Since the President’s Early Learning Initiative, Good Start, Grow Smart (GSGS), was launched in 2002, CCB has worked with States, Territories, and Tribes to strengthen early learning for young children in all child care settings. CCB has developed technical assistance and print resources focused on the three GSGS priorities: (1) developing and implementing early learning guidelines, (2) enhancing and strengthening professional development systems for child care providers and other early care and education practitioners, and (3) facilitating access to services through collaborative efforts across early childhood programs and funding streams. CCB efforts are intended to ensure that low-income parents have access to quality care settings that provide young children with the skills and knowledge needed to enter kindergarten prepared to succeed in school and life.

Child Care Bureau >>