Child Care Assistance in 2004: States Have Fewer Funds for Child Care

Publication Date: December 2005

Publisher: Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s): Danielle Ewen; Hannah Matthews

Research Area: Social conditions

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

State spending on child care assistance declined in 2004 for the first time since the passage of welfare reform in 1996. Child care assistance helps low-income families find and retain the jobs they need to support their families. This policy brief, which examines national expenditure data for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), finds that 31 states made cuts to their child care programs and fewer families received the child care help they needed to work and succeed.

Supplementary file: An associated chart showing state-by-state changes in child care expenditures and CCDBG participation from 2003-2004. Updated 10/17/2006.