UPDATE: Child Care Subsidy to Get an Update

March 13, 2014: The Senate passed the Child Care Development Block Grant. It’s on to the House of Representatives!

Today’s high school seniors weren’t born.
Mother Theresa and Princess Diana were alive.
Pokemon didn’t exist.

The world in 1996 – the last time the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) was authorized. It hasn’t been updated since.

That’s about to change. A reauthorization bill is scheduled to be heard on the Senate Floor this week. The bill, The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013, was first introduced in June 2013 by North Carolina’s Senator Richard Burr (R-N) and his colleagues Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN).

The CCDBG Grant provides funding to assist working poor families in affording child care. The reauthorization recognizes the importance of high quality early care environments and includes an emphasis on:

  • Improving quality. States must set aside three percent of funding to expand access and improve the quality of care for infants and toddlers.
  • Addressing nutritional and physical activity needs. Quality funds may support the development of guidelines relating to health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity and development for young kids.
  • Providing consistent care for children. Children who initially qualify for a subsidy get care for at least a year.
  • Keeping children safe. Individuals who provide care for children with the support of CCDBG funding must undergo a background check.

Watch Senator Burr’s Floor Speech on the Bill
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