Read the full article by Jillian Luchner on afterschoolalliance.org.
On August 1, Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced the Child Care and Development Block Grant Reauthorization Act of 2024. The act builds on the current Child Care and Development Block Grant legislation last reauthorized in 2014. Additional co-sponsors include Todd Young (R-IN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE). Senate Republicans introduced a similar piece of legislation in the last congress with 14 co-sponsors, including Sen. Fischer.
What could it mean for afterschool?
Afterschool programs play a significant role in federal child care funding and in this proposed legislation. An explanatory document of the bill’s major provisions highlights the importance of flexible options in a mixed delivery system to support parent choice, including services for “before-school, after-school and summer care for school-age children.” Currently, 44% of children and youth served by CCDBG funds are school-aged. The legislation text also emphasizes the need for parents to have options to “cover the full workday and full work year,” in a nod to meeting the true needs of so many working and training parents as their children age into the K-12 system. The text would also offer states an opportunity to expand eligibility through a waiver that would allow them to exceed the current federal maximum of supporting families at 85% of state median income if demand for low-income families has been met through appropriate payments.
The legislation also builds on current CCDBG language by placing a greater focus on the child care workforce, including as a key objective of “supporting the education and professional development of child care staff” and the recruitment and retention of that workforce.
In addition to parental and workforce supports, the legislation offers new language to support the business of child care itself. This would include technical assistance in areas such as management coaching and shared service initiatives. It would potentially ease additional hurdles for providers by ensuring states review their health and safety and licensing for clarity and ease of compliance, while still maintaining safe and healthy environments. And it would support the reality of costs in the child care market across ages, settings, and levels of quality by ensuring all states establish cost estimation models within a five-year period reflective of (among other areas) the salaries and benefits needed to recruit and retain qualified staff. States would choose the cost model methodology they prefer, but once adopted, they would be required to pay programs in accordance with the model and provide cost of living increases at a minimum of every two years.
Part II of the bill would add a new section on “Child Care Supply and Facilities Grants” to establish grants to states to subgrant funds to programs eligible to participate in CCDBG. Uses include startup and expansion costs, meeting health, safety, and licensing requirements, participating in state quality systems, or developing networks of family care providers. Additional grants would be available for facility costs such as construction, renovation, and remodeling. States would be permitted to retain up to 10% of the program allocation for administration and technical assistance, including third-party networks and intermediaries.
While the bill does not designate a specific amount of funding for these advances, the legislation brings attention to important needs in the child care, afterschool, and summer sectors. Additionally, by keeping the framework of the current CCDBG system, the bill maintains alignment and continuity across the age continuum as babies age into pre-K and school-age care. While the bill is currently supported only by Republican Senators, there are bipartisan components to the bill, including reducing unnecessary barriers to program participation in subsidy; supporting the child care workforce; increasing supply through program support in navigating the licensing process and facility costs; and ensuring programs can afford to continue operating through payments reflective of their true costs for high-quality staff and high-quality care.
For afterschool programs, progress in these areas is critical. Currently, for every 1 child in an afterschool program, 4 more are waiting to get in. And providers are reporting that increased costs, including those to attract and retain staff, are responsible for growing waitlists. Meanwhile, a number of states are moving to school-age-specific licensing regulations that make the process less onerous for school-age providers to accept subsidies, and some excellent school-age quality systems are providing opportunities to supply more great programming options for families built on the tenets of positive youth development.
The afterschool community can use this momentum to continue communicating to Congressional Representatives and local candidates that we can and must ensure child care supports for access, licensing, quality systems, and the workforce are reflective of the diverse and impactful community of school-age, afterschool, and summer providers.
