States Eligible for $3.5 Billion in Child Care Funding from 2020 CARES Act

Updated April 24, 2020

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released CARES Act (2020) supplemental funding allocations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). $3,376,138,000 was allocated to the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, while $17.5 million was provided to U.S. territories, for a total of $3,393,638,000 in funds for this program.

For a further breakdown of funding by state and territory, please view the Excel attached to this article. 

Published April 13, 2020

The CARES Act of 2020, signed into law on March 27, allocates an additional $3.5 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), funding which is designed to provide immediate assistance to child care providers during the coronavirus pandemic. The $3.5 billion for states, territories, and tribes will help prevent child care providers from going out of business, as well as support child care for families with essential workers, including healthcare workers, first responders, and others whose services are deemed essential in responding to coronavirus. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is a program through the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Child Care (OCC). It provides assistance to low-income families who need child care due to work, work-related training, or attending school, and serves as the application for CCDBG funds.

The child care provisions in the CARES Act are meant to provide continued payments and assistance to child care providers in response to decreased enrollment or closures related to coronavirus. Ultimately, this is to ensure that providers are able to remain open or reopen. The supplemental funds can also be used to provide child care assistance to health care sector employees, emergency responders, sanitation workers, and other essential workers, without regard to the income eligibility requirements. Funding will be provided to State, Territory, and Tribal Child Care and Development Fund Lead Agencies, which are responsible for administering and implementing CCDF program funds.

Funding will be available to eligible CCDF providers, even if they did not receive CCDF assistance prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, these funds are fairly unrestricted and may be used for any other allowable CCDF uses. They are also exempted from the quality and direct services spending requirements. Funding will remain available through September 2021.

ACF has not yet finalized each Lead Agency’s allocation. In the meantime, Lead Agencies and other stakeholders can calculate a rough estimate of their CARES Act Discretionary funding level using the following steps:

States

States can calculate their percentage share of total State FY2019 CCDF Discretionary funding from the State and Territory Allocation table on the OCC website. Total State FY2019 CCDF Discretionary funding was $4,840,730,000.

Apply this percentage to the CARES Act total amount for States of $3,376,138,000. This will provide a rough estimate of states’ CARES Act Discretionary allocation.

Territories

Territories can calculate their percentage share of total Territory FY2019 CCDF Discretionary funding from the State and Territory Allocation table on the OCC website. Total Territory FY2019 CCDF Discretionary funding was $26,380,000.

Apply this percentage to the CARES Act total amount for Territories of $17,500,000. This will provide a rough estimate of territories’ CARES Act Discretionary allocation.

Tribes

Tribes can calculate their percentage share of total FY2019 Tribal CCDF Discretionary per Child funding from the Tribal Allocation table on the OCC website. Total FY2019 Tribal CCDF Discretionary per Child funding was $288,304,000.

Apply this percentage to the CARES Act total amount for Tribes of $96,250,000. This will provide a rough estimate of tribes’ CARES Act Discretionary allocation.

For daily updates and analysis on the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on government spending, please visit GovWin’s Coronavirus Government Response Resource Center.