Almost one in four (3.9 million) students who are enrolled in postsecondary education programs in the United States are also raising a dependent child (Miller, Gault, and Thorman, 2011). These parents are preparing themselves to compete in an American economy in which high skill levels are required to earn a wage sufficient to support a family…

State child care policies can promote the quality and continuity of early childhood experiences and foster the healthy growth and development of babies and toddlers in all child care settings, especially if they are informed by research. The quality of the relationship between children and those who care for them influences every aspect of young…

State child care policies--including licensing, subsidy, and quality enhancement strategies--can promote the quality and continuity of early childhood experiences and foster the healthy growth and development of babies and toddlers in child care settings, especially if they are informed by research. One of the policy levers states may use to…

A growing number of state leaders believe that it is essential to expand high-quality early learning and development opportunities for all young children before they reach kindergarten. A key component of this strategy is providing access to voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, especially for low-income children. Over the last few…

Babies need good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences to promote their healthy intellectual, social, and emotional development. However, as the poverty rate for children under age 3 continues to increase, a rising number of young children are going without these supports. The federal Early Head Start program (EHS) was…

This paper describes the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the principal source of federal funding for child care subsidies for low income families and the principal source of federal funding for initiatives to improve the quality of child care in the states. Each state qualifies to receive an amount of federal funds under the CCDF each year…

The two principal federal funding streams available to states for provision of child care services are the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant structure. Noting that funds from both of these can be used for child care and early education initiatives, this report summarizes what…

This report presents key findings from a review of data focusing on child care arrangements among people who have left welfare. Most states have conducted studies of former welfare recipients using administrative data, surveys of welfare leavers, or a combination of the two. Data from these surveys indicate that most people who have left welfare…

This document is comprised of four Center for Law and Policy articles dealing with federal child care subsidies. The first discusses the proposed welfare reauthorization that includes an increase in Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding and an increase in the amount states can transfer from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families…

This document summarizes and compares selected child care and early education provisions in current law and a set of major Congressional proposals addressing reauthorization and early education as of September 24, 2002: (1) the Administration's Early Childhood Initiative; (2) the final TANF reauthorization bill as passed in the House; (3) the…

This document is comprised of presentation slides for overhead projection summarizing federal funding for child care since the 1996 changes in welfare and child care laws, and the status of reauthorization. The first slide provides a presentation overview; the remaining sheets cover the following: (1) two main sources of federal funds for…

This report and policy brief synthesizes findings from five reports on the experiences of low-income parents, child care providers, and state child care systems in Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Texas, and Washington. In recent years, there has been increased national funding for child care but deteriorating economic conditions that could jeopardize…

In order to achieve the expectations for children's learning stipulated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, greater attention needs to be given to child care policy and funding. This report details a study examining strategies in seven states that have integrated early education program standards in child care, by directly tying standards to…

Across the country, states are developing more unified and comprehensive education systems for young children. The authors of this article outline seven features that help connect various early education programs across a state. First, supportive governance ensures that all parts of an early care and education system complement, rather than…