The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequities in families’ access to child care and created an urgent need for states and territories to stabilize their child care systems. From March 2020 to March 2021, Congress allocated more than $52 billion to states to stabilize child care and support families with young children. These federal COVID-19 relief funds were crucial in preventing additional closures of early care and education (ECE) programs and ensuring that families could maintain employment without losing access to child care. As states and territories finish spending their federal relief funds, there is a critical opportunity for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administrators and early childhood system leaders to explore existing challenges and strengths, understand how changes to policy during the pandemic influenced families and the child care workforce, and set new goals for the long-term success of child care in their communities. The information in this report can help leaders identify and select key indicators that will measure their progress moving forward.
To view a snapshot of COVID-19 funding received and its utilization in your state, click on the individual state profiles at the bottom of this page. Each profile highlights trends from 2019 to 2022, including parental workforce participation, income levels, work disruptions due to child care needs, child care subsidy receipt, child care supply, and wages for child care workers. Profiles for Colorado, New York, and Virginia will be posted once they’re completed.
This report provides a snapshot of the amount of COVID-19 funding received, how it was used, and trends in parental participation in the labor force, income levels, work disruptions due to child care needs, child care subsidy receipt, child care supply, and wages for child care workers. Researchers analyzed publicly available data and conducted an online survey of CCDF administrators to verify policy information, detail uses of funding, and understand concerns about the end of COVID-19 funding. The survey, with responses from 34 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and three U.S. territories, offered valuable insights into the impact and future needs of child care stabilization efforts.
These findings provide an initial snapshot of child care stabilization trends; however, there are limitations due to the timeframe of available data, which may not fully align with the distribution of all funding. Disaggregation of the data is also needed to examine variations among different groups. These gaps need to be addressed through additional research. The report’s action steps for further research offer recommendations to reflect on and apply lessons learned from policy actions taken during the pandemic. Assessing state and territory-specific contexts before and after the pandemic is critical to building on each child care system’s strengths and areas for improvement, ultimately achieving long-term stabilization and equitable child care access for families.
King, C., Banghart, P., Hackett, S., Guerra, G., & Appel, S. (2024). Future directions for child care stabilization: Insights from state and territory uses of COVID-19 relief funds. Child Trends. DOI: 10.56417/1169b4422y
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