About SOCC

Affordable, quality child care is out of reach for far too many working families. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) provides funds to defray the cost of child care for many families, but the program needs more resources to reach more families and fund quality child care with livable wages for early educators. When families receive help paying for child care, their wages increase, more mothers enter the labor force, and the U.S. economy grows. This national partnership advocates for an increase in the Child Care and Development Block Grant so that U.S. families, workers, and the economy can work.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary federal funding source for child care subsidies to help eligible low-income and working families access child care and to improve the quality of child care for all children.

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What is CCDBG?

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary federal funding source for child care subsidies to help eligible low-income and working families access child care and to improve the quality of child care for all children. Appropriated by Congress each year, this program provides funding for states to invest in child care in a variety of ways—from helping families afford child care, to investing in quality initiatives, and helping early educators build their skills. The grant also comes with guidelines that ensure both center-based and home-based providers are providing safe child care settings that give parents peace of mind when they go to work. In 2018, Congress provided the largest-ever increase in CCDBG funding. These funds are helping states make important improvements to their child care programs—from increasing payment rates so that parents have more child care options to reducing waiting lists and reaching more families. Watch the videos below to find out more about how your state is implementing the CCDBG and using increased funding levels to improve child care.