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STATE OF PLAY: Child Care Accountability and Oversight
Update: 1/7/26 What’s Happening News this week is focused on reports of persistent fraud in Minnesota and the announcement that the Department of Health and Human Services would be freezing …
STATE OF PLAY: Appropriations
Update – 1/7/26 What’s Happening Get Up To Speed Bookmark the FFYF Appropriations State of Play for frequent updates as this continues to develop. Reading List Politico 1/3/26A month out, …
FFYF Briefing Room: Accountability and Oversight, Essential To Affordable Child Care
Prevent Fraud – Protect Children The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary federal child care program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families …
UPDATE: 23 States Receive Grants To Strengthen Child Care
Good news for child care this week. Twenty-three states have been awarded new federal grants to strengthen their child care and early learning programs. The Preschool Development Grant Birth through …
A Year of Progress: 10 Bright Spots for Child Care & Early Learning
Even in a year marked by a government shutdown, political turbulence, and general unpredictability in Washington, 2025 gave us plenty to celebrate for child care and early learning. Families, advocates, …
Cost Estimation Models: Increasing Child Care Stability Through More Accurate Provider Payment Rates
Cost Estimation Models allow states to better align provider payment rates with the actual cost of providing quality child care. This strengthens the workforce, enhances the quality of care children …
The First Five Things to Know About: Employer-Provided Child Care Credit (45F)
In the United States, two-thirds of young children live in households where all available parents are working. meaning child care is essential for families’ ability to stay in the workforce. …
Through the Years: Preschool Development Grants Birth Through Five
The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program is a $315 million competitive federal grant designed to improve collaboration and quality in states’ early childhood systems by building …
TOOLKIT: FY26 Appropriations
The Ask Congress: Please act quickly to provide increased stability for families, children, and programs by passing the Senate FY26 Labor-H appropriations bill that prioritizes funding for child care and early learning programs for a full year. Step …
NEW: “High Cost of Child Care Shapes Families’ Choices and Futures”
A new 2025 American Family Survey shows a sharp shift in how Americans view the cost of raising children. Seven in ten respondents now say raising kids is too expensive, …
STATE OF PLAY: Federal Shutdown and Child Care/Early Learning Programs
UPDATE: 11/18/25 In the aftermath of the shutdown, Head Start programs around the nation are continuing to re-open, some more quickly than others. See the latest on the FFYF Shutdown …
