Tools and Strategies for Examining the Relationship between Child Care Subsidy Policies and Trends in Child, Family, and Provider Outcomes

The Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) authorizes the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) program, which is the primary federal funding source for child care subsidies that help eligible working families with low incomes access child care. CCDF also aims to support the quality of care by supporting child care licensing, quality improvement systems that help programs meet higher quality standards, and training and education for the CCEE workforce.¹

The 2014 CCDBG reauthorization law included new requirements for states related to health and safety, licensing, and the quality of care, creating a need for increased funding. In 2018, Congress appropriated an increase of more than $2 billion to support states and territories in meeting the goals and requirements of the 2014 CCDBG reauthorization.² Since March 2020, Congress has allocated over $52 billion to CCDBG to stabilize child care and support working families through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act; the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CCSRA) Act; and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

While there are parameters on allowable uses, states can determine how the funds are prioritized and allocated. As a result, many states are seeking guidance on how they can track the relationship between specific CCDF policy choices and outcomes for children, families, and providers. However, determining the relationship between specific CCDF policy choices and outcomes is complex.

There have been several efforts funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) through the Child Care and Early Education Policy and Research Analysis (CCEEPRA) project to explore this relationship, which inform the development of the conceptual model and analysis guide presented in this report. These efforts include the following:

• A Child Care Subsidy Literature Review, published in 2013, revealed that most studies examined subsidy receipt as a dichotomous variable, with little attention to the influence of specific policy choices or how policies were implemented.³ This literature review was updated in 2019.
• In 2013, a workgroup of subsidy researchers convened by Child Trends on behalf of OPRE and the Child Care and Early Education Policy and Research Consortium (CCEEPRC) defined potential mechanisms for change underlying associations between CCDF policy levers and program outcomes.
• In 2019, funded by the CCEEPRA project, Child Trends used national data to examine associations between CCDF policy levers and outcomes. Lessons learned from this study highlighted the need for a more contextualized and state-specific approach.⁴
• In 2020, two targeted state case studies were conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota and Oregon State University in collaboration with the CCEEPRA project to examine associations in Minnesota and Oregon using a contextualized approach.

Across the research activities, the case study approach emerged as an effective method to understand the effects of CCDF policy choices and outcomes for children, families, and providers. A case study approach provides the structure needed to document the unique context, goals, and complexities that exist within the larger early childhood system that state and territory CCDF policies sit within.

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