Child Care and Early Education at CLASP

CLASP's child care and early education work is dedicated to promoting policies that support both child development and the needs of low-income working parents. Read more about our work.

Read our latest publications or go to our publications page:

• Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and their Families
• CCDBG State Plan Reported Activities to Support Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Communities
• Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care: Policy Framework Summary
• Title I and Early Childhood Programs: A Look at Investments in the NCLB Era       

Starting Early, Starting Right Act Introduced

On May 5, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) took an important step forward for low-income families by introducing the Starting Early, Starting Right Act. With the addition of $10 billion in new funds each year, the legislation will make a significant investment in the child care subsidy program in order to increase access for low-income families, raise reimbursement rates for providers, and improve the quality of care through training, monitoring, and new initiatives.

While the Child Care and Development Block Grant was scheduled to be reauthorized in 2000, it has remained low on the priority list for Congress and the President.  Funding for child care assistance has been near frozen for six years, yet as the economy worsens, more families need help paying for the child care they need to go to work.  Across the country, more than 360,000 children are on waiting lists for help.  Many more thousands of children and families need help but do not even bother applying for assistance.

As child care resources have grown scarcer, many families struggle to find providers who will care for their children.  Most states pay low rates to providers, forcing them to put off needed improvements, preventing salary increases, and making it difficult for low-income families to find high-quality caregivers in their communities.

Congress has been silent for too long regarding child care; Senator Casey’s proposal should get his colleagues talking.  The low-income working families of America are waiting.

Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and Their Families

A new joint report by CLASP and ZERO TO THREE - Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and Their Families – examines actions states have taken to build on Early Head Start. Less than 3 percent of babies and toddlers who are eligible for Early Head Start (EHS) - a federal program with promising results - are reached at current federal funding levels. CLASP and ZERO TO THREE found 20 states use mostly one of four main approaches:

• Extending the day or year of existing EHS services. 
• Expanding the capacity of existing EHS and Head Start programs to increase the number of children and pregnant women served.
• Providing resources and assistance to child care providers to help them deliver services meeting EHS standards. 
• Supporting partnerships between EHS and center-based and family child care providers to improve the quality of care. 

The paper also discusses opportunities and challenges facing state policymakers and provides recommendations for state leaders interested in promoting better futures for at-risk children through building on Early Head Start. Click to read state profiles of Iowa's and Kansas' EHS initiatives. Coming soon - profiles of the other 8 states interviewed in the paper. For more information on the federal EHS program, see Supporting Families, Nurturing Young Children: Early Head Start Programs in 2006.

ZERO TO THREE Policy Center hosted a webinar on Tuesday, April 22, with a presentation on the study as well as presentations by state policymakers in Iowa and Kansas about their EHS initiatives. All three presentations are currently available online, or click here to view a recording of the webinar.

Child Care Bureau releases new child care subsidy data

This month, the Child Care Bureau released Report to Congress for FY 2004 and 2005. The report provides the latest information about Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) expenditures and participation in those years as well as additional information about training and technical assistance, and child care-related research. The report contains administrative data that has not previously been released in other data tables. Highlights of the data include the following:

• Child care spending is historically high but has declined in recent years. Child care spending from all sources (including CCDBG, TANF, and SSBG-related funds) totaled $12.1 billion in 2004 and fell to $11.96 billion in 2005. According to the previous Report to Congress, spending reached a high of $12.2 billion in FY 2003. The decline between 2004 and 2005 was the result of decreased TANF-funds used for child care.
• A total of 2.35 million children received child care assistance through all funding sources in 2004 and 2005. Approximately 1.75 million children were served in CCDBG in an average month in 2005. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that an additional 600,000 children were served through TANF and SSBG-related funds.
• The number of children receiving child care from all sources is declining over time. The number of children served has fallen from a high of 2.45 million children served in 2000. In 2002 and 2003, approximately 2.44 million and 2.36 million children respectively received child care assistance in an average month.
• CCDBG serves very low-income families. In 2005, the median monthly income of families receiving CCDBG-funded assistance was $1,283 or $15,396 when annualized. This is slightly higher than in previous years. Nearly half (49%) of all families receiving CCDBG-funded assistance had incomes below the federal poverty level (which was $16,090 for a family of three in 2005). Thirteen percent had incomes above 150 percent of poverty, or $24,135 in 2005.
• States serve families well below the maximum eligibility level set by federal law. Nearly all (45) states set eligibility for CCDBG-funded assistance below 85 percent of State Median Income (SMI), the maximum level established by federal law. Eligibility levels in states range from 28 to 85 percent of SMI. On average, states report income eligibility to equal 59 percent of SMI, which is lower than the 62 percent of SMI reported in FY 2002-2003.

In addition to expenditure and participation data, the Report to Congress includes an overview of research activities supported by the Child Care Bureau in 2004 and 2005 and emerging findings from on-going research related to the effect of child care subsidies on positive employment outcomes, patterns of child care use, characteristics of families who receive subsidies, and characteristics of the child care workforce.

This report adds to a body of research showing that as federal funds for child care assistance have stagnated, states have reduced the number of children served, cut spending, reduced income eligibility levels, and made additional policy changes that inhibit low-income working families from getting the help they need to go to work to support their children.

What do we know about state preschool standards for ELLs?

Last month, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released its annual state preschool yearbook. New this year was information on the enrollment of English Language Learners (ELLs) in pre-kindergarten and support services available for them and their families. According to NIEER, 16 states include ELLs among their targeted at-risk populations. CLASP has identified additional states that use ELL status to prioritize enrollment in some way among eligible children. According to NIEER's survey results:

• Twenty-one states, and the District of Columbia permit bilingual pre-kindergarten classes or monolingual pre-kindergarten classes in languages other than English.
• Sixteen states, and the District of Columbia, require information to be given to parents in their primary language.
• Nine states require interpreters or bilingual staff to be available at all times for ELLs. 
• Thirteen states have no state policies related to the provision of support services to ELLs.

The fact that many states are considering the needs of ELLs in their preschool standards is encouraging. Yet, CLASP has found that many policies related to ELLs are vague or contain few details related to their implementation. For example, requirements for interpretation or translation often do not specify the use of qualified, paid, translators and interpreters. Policies also may lack information about implementation when multiple languages are spoken in a classroom or when there is not a majority minority language.

Strong program standards are essential to promote quality early learning experiences for linguistically and culturally diverse young children; and the implementation of quality standards requires ongoing training and technical assistance for state pre-kindergarten administrators, directors, and teachers. As more states develop and expand upon their pre-kindergarten standards related to ELLs, they may want to consider the following:

• Include representatives of immigrant, ethnic, and language minority groups in the design and development of standards and collaborate with diverse organizations to conduct outreach.
• Ensure that research on second language learning and multiculturalism informs the development of standards.
• Ensure attention to cultural and linguistic diversity in the core competencies for pre-kindergarten teachers by including competencies such as fluency in a language other English, understanding of second language acquisition strategies and experience working with diverse families.
• Require that all pre-kindergarten staff have meaningful training in second-language acquisition strategies and cultural competency to effectively work with all children and their families.
• Provide information for parents in accessible formats including translated materials and face-to-face communication with qualified interpreters.
• Fund cultural mediators to serve as a bridge to support services for families.

Upcoming Webinar: How states are Building on the Promise of Early Head Start to expand access for babies and their families

Less than 3 percent of babies and toddlers who are eligible for Early Head Start (EHS) - a federal program with promising results - are reached at current federal funding levels.  Some states have stepped into the breach but more can be done.  The federal Early Head Start program was created to help minimize the disparities caused by poverty by supporting the healthy development of expectant mothers and low-income infants and toddlers in the context of their families and communities. 

A forthcoming joint report by CLASP and ZERO TO THREE - Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and their Families – finds a number of states using one of four main approaches:

• Extending the day or year of existing EHS services. 
• Expanding the capacity of existing EHS and Head Start programs to increase the number of children and pregnant women served.
• Providing resources and assistance to child care providers to help them deliver services meeting EHS standards. 
• Supporting partnerships between EHS and center-based and family child care providers to improve the quality of care. 

You can find out more about the study and hear from state policymakers in Iowa and Kansas about their initiatives in a webinar hosted by the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center on Tuesday, April 22, at 2:00 pm eastern (1:00 pm central, 12:00 pm mountain, and 11:00 am pacific).

Click here to register! 

States increase child care and early education appropriations

State appropriations for child care and early education programs increased over $1 billion from FY 2007 to 2008, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ first-ever survey of state child care and early education state appropriations. The survey asked state fiscal staff to report state appropriations in the areas of child care, pre-kindergarten, parent education/home visiting, and other early learning strategies.  The survey found increases in all four areas:

• Child care appropriations increased by over $672 million ($400 million of which was reported in California) with a total of 47 states reporting increased funding. NCSL notes that the increases in child care appropriations in actuality may not have outpaced the funding challenges that have daunted states for years. 
• Pre-kindergarten appropriations increased by nearly $510 million with a total of 30 reporting increased funding.
• Parent education appropriations increased by over $20 million with a total of 17 states reporting increased funding.
• Appropriations for other early learning, including Head Start/Early Head Start, infant and toddler initiatives, and early childhood mental health programs, increased by $26 million with a total of 19 states reporting increased funding.

Eight states—Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington—reported increased funding in all four areas.

While state pre-kindergarten programs have been increasingly popular in recent years, growing in popularity, size and funding, this survey shows that states are funding a wide range of early education programs vital for young children from birth to school entry and their families. In particular, increasing state appropriations for child care is ever important with stagnant federal funding in recent years.  CLASP's analysis shows that state child care spending (including federal and state funds) decreased in 2004 and in 2005, the most recent years data are available.  States can't do it alone; and federal funding should also demonstrate a recognition of the vital importance of early childhood programs that help families work and help children prepare for school and life.

National League of Cities surveys local anti-poverty initiatives

Combating Poverty: Emerging Strategies From The Nation’s Cities is a new report from the National League of Cities that examines poverty reduction initiatives in 29 cities. Overall, the most common anti-poverty approaches were community and volunteer supported outreach campaigns to connect low-income residents to federal and state entitlement programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, and health insurance. The report highlights four common themes in city anti-poverty initiatives:

• Working to create a coordinating entity to monitor and sustain progress over time, which entails assigning planning, coordinating, and in some cases oversight of anti-poverty programs to a single group or agency in order to improve efficiency and accountability.
• Selecting specific targets for community-wide action or concentrating anti-poverty efforts on a single or small set of issues to enable officials to devote resources in a more manageable fashion and generate more measurable progress in tackling poverty.
• Targeting vulnerable populations or neighborhoods for immediate attention.
• Redefining the issues and addressing often overlooked burdens confronting impoverished individuals and families. Including efforts such as  placing grocery stores in high poverty neighborhoods to reduce transportation needs, working with life insurance companies to provide free life insurance, and enhancing low-income residents’ access to mainstream financial institutions and services. 

For some local efforts, child care is a critical component of fighting poverty.  For instance, New York City includes a proposed tax credit to help low-income residents pay for child care. The Providence, Rhode Island, Poverty Work and Opportunity Task Force recommended that city officials engage in efforts to help residents receive adequate child care subsidies and other social service benefits.

New language access resource for states

All agencies that receive federal funds are required to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964  to take reasonable steps to provide limited English proficient (LEP) individuals with meaningful access to their programs, activities, and services. This includes most agencies that administer child care and early education programs, including school districts, state government agencies, and Head Start programs. Yet, inadequate language access remains a significant barrier to accessing programs for many families with young children.

Ensuring language access may include the use of competent interpreters, hiring of bilingual staff, translation of materials, and the use of telephone language line services. Agencies may conduct assessments to review their language access policies and to create plans for improving service delivery to LEP individuals.

The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) has created a language access portal, which is a digital library of hundreds of resources for state and local social service agencies. The portal includes federal and state laws and guidelines, service models, and related research on language access and LEP populations. It also includes information on policies such as bilingual pay differentials, contracting for translation services, and best practices for interpreters. Finally, the portal includes a searchable database of state and local documents that can be used to find examples of translated materials and applications, policy guidance, and other resources. The database is searchable by state, service area, and languages.

Who's minding the kids?

The U.S. Census Bureau released detailed data tables on the child care participation of children under age 15 with working mothers. Data from the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) panel, show that in the spring of 2005, 72 percent of children under age 5 had a primary non-parental care arrangement. Relative care was the primary child care arrangement for 27 percent of young children. A quarter of all young children attended a center-based child care program, including a preschool or Head Start program, as their primary care arrangement. Eleven percent of children of working mothers had no regular child care arrangement. The data are broken down by age, income, race, and other variables. Key data points include:

• Young children in poor and low-income households are more likely to be in relative care.
• Young children whose mothers worked traditional daytime hours were more than twice as likely to be in family child care or center-based care compared to young children whose mothers worked non-daytime hours.
• The use of center-based child care is highest in the South where 30 percent of young children with working mothers attend centers.
• One-third (33 percent) of infants under a year old are in relative care compared to 28 percent of 1-2 year olds and 25 percent of 3-4 year olds.
• Over half (51 percent) of families with young children make child care payments. Poor families on average pay 29 percent of their household income on child care compared to 15 percent for low-income families (100-199 percent of poverty) and 6 percent for upper-income families.
• Half (50 percent) of children age 5 to 14 had no regular care arrangement outside of school or self-care.

Strong child care systems help working families and the economy

The Mississippi Economic Policy Center (MEPC) has released a new report titled Broadening the Base: Strengthening Mississippi's Working Families, Businesses and Economy through Strong Child Care Systems. MEPC highlights the importance of child care to the state's economy and to working families, yet investments in child care are insufficent. In Mississippi:

• The cost of infant child care for 9 months is more than a year of tuition at a state four-year college.
• More than 80,000 eligible children under age 13 receive no child care assistance.
• Child care providers who accept subsidized certificates receive 68% of the market rate for infant care - the most expensive care to provide.

As parents fight to keep their subsidies and providers struggle with low payment rates, MEPC makes several recommendations for strengthening child care to provide this critical work support to low-income working families.  Mississippi could increase its Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) dollars spent on child care; help child care workers increase their skills through the Workforce Investment Act; reward increases in skills, education, and quality through their Quality Step System; and increase the reimbursement rate, use Community Development Block Grant funds to help support investments in child care and make investments in child care facilities that serve low-income families.

The MEPC report makes clear that Mississippi has many opportunities to leverage funds to invest in child care and help support low-income working families.  Now the state has to find the will to fulfill this potential.