Tag Archives: Economic Disparity

Fewer Children, Fewer Providers: Trends in CCDBG Participation

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January 2017

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the major federal funding stream for states to help low-income families afford child care and increase the quality of child care for all. CCDBG gives states flexibility in setting many child care policies within federal parameters. Over the past decade, the CCDBG program has been shrinking due to insufficient federal and state investments. States also have discretion to use funds from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant/program to support child care for low-income families. In 2014, the latest year data are available, combined TANF and CCDBG spending on child care fell to $11.3 billion, the lowest level since 2002.1 As a result, fewer children are getting help. Most recently, in 2015, fewer than 1.4 million children received CCDBG-funded child care in an average month, the smallest number of children served in the program since 1998. From 2006 to 2015, over 373,000 children have lost assistance—a decline of 21 percent.2 Within this context of declining investments and shrinking access, this factsheet explores trends among the child care providers receiving CCDBG funds and implications for the families served by this program.

Source: CLASP

Available at: http://www.clasp.org/resources-and-publications/publication-1/CCDBG-Provider-Factsheet-2006-2015.pdf 

Eligibility and Access in the CCDF Program

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FROM THE OFFICE OF CHILD CARE

1/11/17

Dear Colleague:

As we begin a new year, it’s natural to take stock of our priorities as we move forward. Fortunately, the recognition of the importance of child care to child development and family economic stability continues to grow.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act was updated and reauthorized with bipartisan support by Congress in 2014 to better meet these dual goals. A report issued last month provides information on the reach of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program, the Nation’s largest funding source for child care assistance to help parents who are working or in education/training to pay for child care and to improve the quality of care for all children. States, Territories, and Tribes use CCDF funds to serve their unique populations and to have some flexibility in setting specific policies that govern the everyday experiences of over 1 million children, their families, and the early childhood workforce that nurtures them, and our collective future, each day.

The CCDBG Act of 2014 required the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the extent of participation in the CCDF program across States. The resulting report, Access to Subsidies and Strategies to Manage Demand Vary Across States, found that approximately 14.2 million children under age 13 were in families estimated to be eligible for CCDF subsidies in an average month. These figures are based on the Federal limit on eligibility, which allows States, Territories, and Tribes to set maximum income eligibility no higher than 85% of State Median Income (SMI) and which requires families to qualify based on their participation in work or education/training. According to the Census Bureau, nationally, 85% of SMI translates to a family income of roughly $45,000 per year.Statesmay set the threshold lower and add other eligibility criteria. The GAO found the total number eligible when these criteria are applied is 8.6 million. Of those, GAO found that 1.5 million children in eligible families received child care subsidies in the years for which the data were reviewed (2011 and 2012). That number translates into just 11% of federally eligible children receiving CCDF subsidies. Please view the chart on page 10 of the report for a graphic illustrating these results.

Before, we typically used the figure of 15% of children federally eligible for CCDF who could access the program, based on an analysis published by the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation in 2015. Now, GAO’s calculations show just 11% benefit from access to this important support that helps families choose child care so that they can work or attend school. This current situation is a lost opportunity to strengthen American families and children’s prospects for their future.

Over three-quarters (77%) of children receiving a subsidy lived in families with income under 150% of the Federal poverty level, with 60% below poverty. Poverty wages meant earnings less than $23,000 for a family of four in 2012, the most recent year of data that GAO analyzed. The average price of child care for an infant care in a center is over $10,000 a year, although it varies depending on the cost of living in different areas.

When more families ask for a subsidy than a State can serve, it leads to difficult choices. GAO asked 32 States questions about how they manage the demand for child care subsidies. States mentioned using wait lists, prioritization criteria, and closing intake.

With the birth of a new year, like the birth of a child, comes new potential and promise. Thank you to all who will be a part of realizing that potential and promise for children, families, and the early childhood workforce in 2017.

Sincerely,

Rachel Schumacher

CLASP Brief Examines Latino Families’ Access to Child Care Subsidies

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12/13/2016

CLASP has released a new brief titled A Closer Look at Latino Access to Child Care Subsidies. A companion piece to our original report Disparate Access: Head Start and CCDBG Data by Race and Ethnicity, this brief elaborates on the low level of access Latino children and their parents have to child care assistance through the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). CCDBG helps parents afford the high costs of child care and supports quality improvements in child care.

CLASP’s analysis found that access to child care subsidies is sharply limited for all eligible children, but even more so eligible Latino children. While 13 percent of all eligible children receive child care assistance through CCDBG, only 8 percent of eligible Latino children nationally get help. Access is even lower in 29 states. This brief takes a closer look at the data on Latino children’s access across the states and offers policy solutions to improve access to child care assistance. 

Read A Closer Look At Latino Access To Child Care Subsidies >>

Register for CLASP and diversitydatakids.org’s joint webinar, Place and Race Matter: Head Start and CCDBG Access by Race, Ethnicity, and Location >> 

Source: CLASP

Continuing Resolution is Signed, Keeps Federal Government Funded through April 2017

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12/12/2016

After last-minute action on Friday by the U.S. House and Senate, along with President Obama’s signature this morning, the federal government has a temporary spending bill that keeps the doors open for another 20 weeks, through April 28. The first “Continuing Resolution” (CR) for the federal Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17), which began October 1, 2016, expired on December 9. 

This temporary spending bill is the last action the current Congress took before adjourning for the year. The spending bill for the rest of FY17 (covering the period of April 29 to September 30), along with an FY18 bill, will be taken up by the newly elected Congress in the spring. Based on the proposals that Republican leaders in the House and Senate have made, those budgets could make deep cuts in core programs intended to address the needs of the 13.5 percent of Americans who live in poverty–woefully underfunding programs like Head Start, job training, and Pell grants that help low-income families, workers, and students. At the same time, Republicans will likely seek to sharply increase the budget for defense spending and reduce taxes for the richest Americans. As the new president and Congress act on the budget next spring, they must remember that investments in education, employment, young children, and anti-poverty strategies are crucial to America’s future. 

In the interim, CRs, which are used in the absence of an approved federal spending bill, typically continue the funding for discretionary programs at a rate or formula consistent with the previous fiscal year. This CR includes a 0.19 percent across-the-board cut, which is compounded by the fact that the FY16 budget was the lowest in a decade when adjusted for inflation—meaning that this latest CR represents a significant effective decrease. 

Specific examples of the consequences of temporary funding levels in the bill include the following:

  • Reducing current child care funding, which is already sharply inadequate, leaves states without the resources necessary to implement the critical improvements passed by Congress in 2014 to improve the health, safety, and quality of child care and to provide low-income working families with more stable child care assistance. Already, the number of children receiving child care funded through the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant program has fallen to a 16-year low, with just 1.4 million children being served in 2014, and more will surely lose access without new funding. 
  • Fewer workers will receive the skills training and postsecondary credentials they need to move toward better jobs, since this year’s funding level for adult education is more than 6 percent below the FY 2017 amounts authorized in 2014’s bipartisan reauthorization of the federal workforce development law. Moreover, current funding for key adult and youth employment and training is more than 3 percent lower than WIOA-authorized levels for next year. This would continue a decline in funding for these programs of more than 30 percent in real terms over the past 15 years.
  • Communities of color have been hit especially hard by federal disinvestment in key programs such as child care, workforce training, and Head Start. Youth of color, particularly out of school youth, simply don’t have the resources they need to succeed, and young children cannot get the start they need and deserve without help. With children of color soon to be half of all children—and already half of children under five—their success matters deeply to America’s future.

Our country can help offset the damaging prevalence of poverty and economic insecurity by making a strong commitment to addressing poverty. Such a commitment should start with the enactment next year of FY17 and FY18 spending bills that expand and invest in the crucial education, child care, safety net, and workforce development programs that help people get and keep a job, stabilize families, and promote success. In addition, policymakers must focus resources and attention on those who face the most barriers—children, youth, and families of color, immigrant families, and those whose opportunities are limited by pervasive poverty in their neighborhoods and communities. 

Unfortunately, the current statements of Congressional leaders suggest that the spring’s budget could reflect just the opposite priorities—tax cuts for the richest Americans and sharply eroded help for everyone else. CLASP intends to redouble efforts to ensure policymakers make the right decisions for those children, families, and individuals struggling to make ends meet. To that end, we are working closely with the Coalition on Human Needs on a variety of efforts, including this sign-on letter that the Coalition’s “Save for All” campaign will be sending in early January to the president and members of Congress. Hundreds of national, state, and local organizations have already taken the concrete step of signing on, and you may do so here. 

Source: CLASP

Webinar: Place, Race, ACE, and the First 1000 Days: New Policy Imperatives for Early Childhood

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About the presenters

Charles Bruner, Ph.D.
Charles Bruner, Ph.D. Image
Charles Bruner, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator for the Learning Collaborative on Health Equity and Young Children, has worked on child policy and advocacy issues from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Charlie holds a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University, served 12 years as a state representative and then senator in the Iowa General Assembly, and was the founding Director of Iowa’s leading child policy research and advocacy organization, the Child and Family Policy Center. His presentation will draw upon the policy brief, ACE, Place, Race, Poverty, and Young Children: Community-Building as a Component of Early Childhood Systems Building.
Richard Chase
Richard Chase Image
Senior research manager at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, studies early childhood policies, services, and indicators and evaluates the effectiveness of school readiness, prevention, and capacity-building programs for children. For more than 30 years, Richard has worked with diverse community agencies to design and carry out studies focused on outcomes and improvement. Richard holds a doctorate in American Studies from the University of Minnesota. His presentation will draw upon the policy report, Prenatal to Age 3: A Comprehensive, Racially-Equitable Policy Plan for Universal Healthy Child Development.
Voices and Choices for Children Coalition
The Voices and Choices for Children Coalition working closely with the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, state ethnic councils, state agencies, early childhood funders, community-based organizations, early childhood advocates and parents representing communities of color and American Indian communities across the state of Minnesota, focuses on developing strongly engaged cultural communities of learning as well as organizing and advocacy opportunities for their access, input, and impact around shaping more equitable practices and policies that will support better outcomes for children of color and American Indian children prenatal to 8 years old across the state. The coalition prioritizes the voices of organizations, advocates and parents of color and American Indians working across early childhood sectors to more meaningfully engage and empower communities of color and American Indians.
Angelica Cardenas-Chaisson, M.S.W.
Moderator: Angelica Cardenas-Chaisson, M.S.W. is CFPC’s staff lead for the Learning Collaborative on Health Equity and Young Children.  Ms. Cardenas-Chaisson has an emphasis on health equity and young children. She brings expertise in early learning and family support to the center’s work.  She also works closely on issues of youth living in foster care.
Ms. Cardenas received her B.A. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has a Master’s of Social Work with an emphasis on children and families from the University of California, Berkeley.

Source: Learning Collaborative on Health Equity & Young Children

Registration available at: https://cc.readytalk.com/registration/#/?meeting=7f43uzewd8ja&campaign=8pm8s6v79gp4

Housing and Early Childhood Programs on the January 2017 Point-In-Time Count

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12/8/2016

About the Point-In-Time Count

The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is an annual count of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in the last 10 days in January. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires its Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees[1] to conduct an annual count of sheltered homeless persons. CoCs also must conduct a count of unsheltered homeless persons every other year (odd numbered years).[2] Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally by service providers and trained volunteers. While many CoCs complete their count of unsheltered persons on the night designated for the count, given the additional challenges associated with counting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, some CoCs conduct their unsheltered count over the seven days following the night of the count.[3] This “post-night” approach may be particularly useful for counting unsheltered families and youth with young children.

Early Childhood and Housing Working Together

Many children in the United States start life without a home: in 2013, over one million children under six were estimated to have experienced homelessness.[4]

Infants, toddlers and preschoolers who experience homelessness are at grave risk of developmental delays due to a variety of factors such as a lack of prenatal and early health care, crowded and unsanitary living conditions, poor nutrition, and the trauma caused by severe poverty and unstable living arrangements.[5]

Early childhood providers who are serving young children and families experiencing homelessness can support the CoC PIT count efforts, thereby ensuring that families with young children are more likely to be included in this important count.

Please see the new 2-page fact sheet entitled Housing and Early Childhood Programs on the January 2017 Point-In-Time Count, available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/pit_count_2017ecefinal.pdf?nocache=1481234077 . This fact sheet, geared towards an early childhood audience, provides information about HUD’s annual Point-it-Time (PIT) count, and suggests strategies for how early childhood programs can help ensure the most comprehensive and effective count of families experiencing homelessness.

ECE involvement in PIT count planning can provide valuable insights into and help with

• selecting child/family-friendly count sites and creating a welcoming environment there,
• selecting child/family-friendly incentives[6] for count participation,
• recruiting volunteers, and
• suggesting other local service providers to assist with the count.

See the fact sheet https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/pit_count_2017ecefinal.pdf?nocache=1481234077.

In addition, on October 31, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Education (ED) issued a joint Policy Statement on Meeting the Needs of Families with Young Children Experiencing and At Risk of Homelessness. The policy statement provides research and recommendations on ways in which early childhood and housing providers at the local and, in some cases, State levels can intentionally collaborate to provide safe, stable, and nurturing environments for pregnant women and families with young children who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. See the  Policy Statement on Meeting the Needs of Families with Young Children Experiencing and At Risk of Homelessness.

See also the new infographic that shows, in the United States, infancy is the age at which individuals are most likely to enter shelter or transitional housing, followed by ages one to five, and homelessness during pregnancy and in the early years is harmful to children’s development.

Ending family and early childhood homelessness in America will require the concerted efforts of all of us.

For more information on Early Care and Education for Children Experiencing Homelessness, see here..
Read The Family Room Blog Supporting Young Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness.

[1] Continuums of Care are local or regional planning bodies that coordinate housing and services for homeless individuals, families, and youth. Visit https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/coc/ for more information.
2 While only required by HUD during odd years, many CoCs conduct an unsheltered count every year.
3 CoCs using this approach must ensure that the persons counted are limited to people who were unsheltered on the night chosen for the PIT count and that the CoCs can properly deduplicate their data.
4  Early Childhood Homelessness in the United States: 50-State Profile. January 2016. Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
5 Perlman, S. (2015). Access to Early Childhood Programs for Young Children Experiencing Homelessness: A Survey Report. http://naehcy.org/sites/default/files/pdf/naehcy-survey-report.pdf
6 Many CoCs provide incentives to homeless people who participate in the PIT count. Incentives may include transit passes, meal gift cards, toiletries, backpacks, blankets, and items of clothing.

Source: The Administration for Children and Families

Children in Poverty

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12/8/2016

In 2010, more than one in five children (22 percent) lived in families with incomes below the poverty line, the highest level since 1993; by 2014, this had fallen to 21 percent. Black and Hispanic children, children living in single-mother families, and children under five are even more likely to be poor.

Importance

Since the mid-1970s, children under 18 have been much more likely than adults to be poor.[1] Being raised in poverty (defined as income of $24,008 or less in 2014, for a family of four with two children) [2] places children at higher risk for a wide range of problems. Research indicates that poor children are disproportionately exposed to factors that may impair brain development [3] and affect cognitive, social, and emotional functioning. These risks include environmental toxins, inadequate nutrition, maternal depression, parental substance abuse, trauma and abuse, violent crime, divorce, low-quality child care, and decreased cognitive stimulation (stemming in part from exposure, in infancy, to a more restricted vocabulary[4],[5],[6]

While determining causality is complex in this context, experiencing poverty is also related to increased risks of negative health outcomes for young children and adolescents. When compared with all children, poor children are more likely to have poor health and chronic health conditions.[7] Children in poor families are more likely to be born premature and at a low birth weight, and to develop later illnesses, such as respiratory diseases. As adolescents, poor youth are more likely to suffer from mental health problems, such as personality disorders and depression. Moreover, in comparison to all adolescents, those raised in poverty engage in higher rates of risky health-related behaviors, including smoking and early initiation of sexual activity.[8],[9],[10]

Aside from physical and mental health, poverty in childhood and adolescence is associated with a higher risk for poorer cognitive and academic outcomes, lower school attendance, lower reading and math test scores, increased distractibility, and higher rates of grade failure and early high school dropout.[11],[12] Poor children are also more likely than other children to have externalizing and other behavior problems, or emotional problems,[13],[14] and are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviors during adolescence.[15] Finally, growing up in poverty is associated with lower occupational status and lower wages,[16],[17] poorer health,[18] and deficits in working memory[19] in adulthood.

Reporting on child poverty rates at a single point in time gives an under-estimate of its deleterious effects, since research shows that persistent poverty, as well as poverty experienced in the childhood’s early years, is most detrimental to development.[20] Nearly four in ten children are poor for one or more years before they reach age 18—nearly double the point-in-time estimate. More than one in ten are poor for half or more of their childhood years.[21]

Source: Child Trends

Available at: http://www.childtrends.org/indicators/children-in-poverty/

Supporting Parents in Job Training and Education Programs with Child Care Assistance

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12/2/2016

This Information Memorandum provides guidance to Lead Agencies implementing provisions of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014, to increase access to child care assistance and information so that low-income parents may further their education and training as a pathway to better wages and economic stability.

Source: Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/im-2016-04

 

Poor kids who go to daycare may later do better in school

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11/23/2015

The more time low-income children spend in daycare, the better they’re likely to be doing in school at age 12, a Canadian study suggests.

While previous research has linked high quality daycare centers to better academic performance, the current study focussed on whether daycare might help reduce or eliminate income-based disparities in achievement through adolescence.

Researchers found that children from low-income families who spent the most time in center-based care scored 37 percent better on reading and writing tests and 46 percent better on math exams at age 12 than similar kids who logged the fewest hours in daycare centers.

“Children from disadvantaged families who remain at home have double risks – they evolve in a home environment that is less stimulating than that of non-disadvantaged children and they are not exposed to the learning experience that most children receive by going to child care,” senior author Sylvana Cote, of the University of Montreal in Canada, said by email.

Source: Reuters

Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-kids-daycare-idUSKBN0TC1XN20151123

Child care workers aren’t paid enough to make ends meet 

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11/5/2015

By Elise Gould

Child care workers play an important role in the U.S. economy by allowing parents of young children to pursue employment outside the home and providing children a stimulating and nurturing environment in which to learn and grow.

In recent decades families have increasingly had to rely on child care because spending more time at work has become an economic necessity for many. Over the last 35 years, most American workers have endured stagnant wages—a reality that has led many two-parent households to work significantly longer hours to cover their rising expenses (Mishel et al. 2012).

Despite the crucial nature of their work, child care workers’ job quality does not seem to be valued in today’s economy. They are among the country’s lowest-paid workers, and seldom receive job-based benefits such as health insurance and pensions. As with any other industry or occupation, paying decent wages and providing necessary benefits is essential to attract and retain the best workers.

Source: Economic Policy Institute

Available at: http://www.epi.org/publication/child-care-workers-arent-paid-enough-to-make-ends-meet/