Reversing Direction on Welfare Reform: President's Budget Cuts Child Care for More Than 300,000 Children

Publication Date: February 2004

Publisher: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, D.C.); Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s): Shawn Fremstad; Mark Greenberg; Sharon Parrott; Jennifer Mezey

Research Area: Social conditions

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The Administration's proposed budget estimates that the number of children receiving child care already fell by 100,000 over the last year, and will fall by another 200,000 over the next five years, resulting in a decline from 2.5 million children in FY 2003 to 2.2 million in FY 2009. This analysis, jointly prepared by CLASP and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, shows that the Administration's estimate is an understatement; in fact, the number of children receiving child care assistance would decline by 447,000 between FYs 2003 and 2009.

Supplementary file: A two-page appendix on the methodology used in this analysis.