American Rescue Plan Funding: Child Care Workforce Investments

American Rescue Plan (ARP) Funding

In March 2021, Congress passed legislation that included nearly $40 billion to support both child care providers and the families who depend on child care so that they can work or return to the workforce. Out of these funds, $23.9 billion was allocated to states to be used for stabilization grants to support the child care market. The remaining funds were allocated to states to more broadly address child care needs (e.g., supporting families, addressing child care supply gaps, improving the quality of child care, etc.). 

ARP Stabilization Grant Review. Because the operation of any child care program (either in a center or a home) relies on staffing, Child Care Services Association and its National Center, working with the Early Learning Policy Group, reviewed state initiatives based on publicly available information to better understand specific investments in the child care workforce. A tight labor market across the country has made it difficult to recruit and retain staff, particularly given the low wages paid to those individuals working in the child care field. As a result, the ARP stabilization grants include investing in the child care workforce as the first in a list of allowable uses of funding. 

This review focused on state decisions to require the use of stabilization grants to invest in child care workforce compensation or the ability for programs to opt-in to receive supplemental payments to invest in child care workforce compensation. There are many other great resources available to see how states have spent these funds looking at multiple areas. Our focus is specifically on funds for the workforce.

American Rescue Plan (ARP) Stabilization Funds: ECE Workforce Investments

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY DC

Note: The map above is current as of April 8, 2022, and will be regularly updated to ensure that the most up-to-date information is included.

American Rescue Plan Stabilization Grants Additional State Information

Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Investments in the ECE Workforce

In December of 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, which allocated $10 billion to states to be used for child care related to the impact of COVID-19.  At least 12 states have used CRRSA funding to invest in the workforce. It could be that more states used CRRSA funding to invest in the ECE workforce (e.g., for bonuses or retention grants), however, the CCSA review was limited to publicly posted information on state websites in January 2022. 

States Increasing T.E.A.C.H. Scholarships and/or the WAGE$ Program

  • Arkansas ($40 million)
  • Iowa (WAGE$ statewide)
  • Missouri ($1.5 million)
  • Minnesota ($2 million for T.E.A.C.H. and $1 million for REETAIN, the state’s WAGE$ program)
  • North Carolina (removed the income cap for T.E.A.C.H. scholarship eligibility and increased the WAGE$ cap to $23 per hour)
  • Vermont (funds were used to increase the T.E.A.C.H. scholarship)
  • Texas ($7 million)

Federal Funding Investment Deadlines

  • With regard to ARP stabilization funding, states have until September 30, 2022 to obligate funding and until September 30, 2023 to spend it. 
  • With regard to CRRSA funding, states have until September 30, 2022 to obligate funding and until September 30, 2023 to spend it.
  • The American Rescue Plan also included $14.9 billion in supplemental child care funding (in addition to the stabilization funding), which must be obligated by September 30, 2023 and spent by September 30, 2024.

Federal Guidance on COVID-19 Related Child Care Funding 2020 – 2021

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care, Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Guidance, CCDF-ACF-IM-2021-01. (April 14, 2021).
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care, American Rescue Plan Stabilization Grant Guidance, CCDF-ACF-IM-2021-02. (May 10, 2021).  
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care, American Rescue Plan Supplemental CCDBG Discretionary Fund Guidance, CCDF-ACF-IM-2021-03. (June 11, 2021)
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Care, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Guidance, CCDF-ACF-IM-2020-01. (April 29, 2020)

Federal Funding by State Related to COVID-19, 2020 – 2021

Additional Resources

Videos:

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