COVID-19: Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Supplemental Appropriations in the CARES Act

Summary

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law (P.L. 116-136). The CARES Act includes $3.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). These funds are to be used to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.”

The CCDBG Act (42 U.S.C. §§9858 et seq.) is the main federal law supporting child care programs for low-income working families. The CCDBG is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS allocates CCDBG funds to states, territories, and tribes according to a statutory formula. State, territory, and tribal lead agencies submit CCDBG plans to HHS every three years describing how their child care programs will operate. CCDBG funds are used to subsidize the cost of child care for eligible children of low-income working parents. Funds are also used to support activities to improve the quality of child care and for certain other activities.

The $3.5 billion in supplemental CCDBG funds are provided in addition to FY2020 annual appropriations of $5.8 billion (P.L. 116-94). The additional $3.5 billion represents a 60% increase in total appropriations to the CCDBG in FY2020.

The CARES Act funds may be used under existing CCDBG Act authorities. In addition, the CARES Act includes a number of provisions that clarify allowable uses and, in some cases, waive certain underlying requirements of the CCDBG Act. For instance, the CARES Act specifies that the funds

may be used to provide continued payments and assistance to child care providers in cases of decreased enrollment or closures related to coronavirus, and to ensure they are able to remain open or reopen;

may be used to continue to pay staff salaries and wages of child care providers (CCDBG lead agencies are encouraged to place conditions on payments to child care providers aimed at ensuring that a portion of the funds they receive go toward costs of salaries and wages);

may be used to provide child care assistance to health care sector employees, emergency responders, sanitation workers, and other workers deemed essential during the response to the coronavirus, without regard to typical CCDBG income eligibility requirements (federal law generally limits eligibility to those whose family income does not exceed 85% of state median income, though most states set income limits below this federal threshold);

shall be available to eligible child care providers under the CCDBG Act (even if they were not receiving CCDBG funds previously) for the purposes of cleaning and sanitation, and other activities necessary to maintain or resume program operation;

are exempt from the minimum spending requirements for quality activities and direct services;

may be used for allowable obligations incurred prior to enactment of the CARES Act;

may be used for purposes provided in the CARES Act before the lead agency submits any applicable CCDBG plan amendments to HHS (under regulations, lead agencies generally must submit state plan amendments within 60 days of policy change);

shall be used to supplement, not supplant, state, territory, and tribal general revenue funds for child care assistance for low-income families; and

are to remain available for obligation by HHS through the end of FY2021 and may remain available for obligation by CCDBG lead agencies through the end of FY2022.