Modernizing Child Care
Families need affordable child care options that meet their unique needs and support their children’s healthy development.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the largest source of federal funding for child care, but it has not kept pace with the needs of today’s families or the realities of the child care market. Modernizing CCDBG is essential to ensure more young children and working families can access the reliable, quality care they need.
The Latest
What’s Happening
There are two primary ways to strengthen CCDBG in 2026.
FY27 Appropriations. Each year, Congress determines funding levels for federal programs that support the care and education of young children. These investments are essential for working families, early educators, and the healthy development of children ages five and under. For FY2027, Congress should protect, prioritize, and expand these investments in programs including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). Learn more here.
The bipartisan, bicameral Child Care Modernization Act. This legislation would enable states to better meet the growing child care needs of working families, providers, and employers. In a nutshell, the bill would strengthen child care by working with states to design a more accurate way of determining provider reimbursement rates. It provides additional technical assistance to in-home and rural child care providers. And it would continue to ensure parents can choose the type of child care setting that works best for them, including licensed child care centers, home-based providers, and faith-based programs.
The Ask
In the Senate: Introduced 9/17/25 by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and includes cosponsors Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
In the House: Introduced 6/9/26 by Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Rep. Robert Wittman (R-VA), Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NJ), Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA), Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) and Deborah Ross (D-NC).
By the Numbers
- More than 1 Million: Number of children ages 5 & under served by CCDBG
- 16%: Percent of eligible children served by CCDBG at the current funding levels
- Two-thirds of children ages 5 and under in the United States today may need a form of child care because their parents work.
- Child care prices rose 29% between 2020 and 2024 due to increased operational costs and competing wages from other service sectors, or +7% more than the rise overall prices for other goods and services.
- Average cost of child care is +$13,000 a year (+$1,000 a month). View state averages.
- With CCDBG, the average child care copay drops to $3,400 a year ($284 a month). View state copay averages.
Essential Reading
Resources – CCDBG
CCDBG: Overview
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act provides federal funding to states for child care subsidies for low-income families with children under age 13.
Capsule Collection: Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
What is CCDBG? The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is a federal program that helps parents with low incomes afford child care while they work or attend school. …
Child Care Across America: 2026 CCDBG State Fact Sheets
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the federal government’s primary child care assistance program, helping more than a million children from lower-income families afford the care they …
2026: ABCs of Federal Early Learning & Child Care Funding Streams
An overview of the top federal child care and early learning programs and how they are funded.
STATEMENT: First Five Years Fund’s Sarah Rittling in Opposition to Reported Expansion of Eligibility for Federal Child Care Subsidy
According to recent reporting in the New York Times, the White House is considering a new rule that expands eligibility of the federal child care subsidy program to now include married couples with one stay-at-home parent. This is a statement from First Five Years Fund Executive Director Sarah Rittling.
Enrollment and Attendance Payment Models: Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
Overview: States have the flexibility to pay child care providers participating in subsidy programs based on either enrollment or attendance. With enrollment-based payment, providers receive a set amount for holding …
Resources – Child Care Modernization Act
Statement: House Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act to Strengthen Child Care Options for Working Families
Representatives Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Susie Lee (D-NV), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) today introduced the Child Care Modernization Act.
First Five Things To Know About: The Child Care Modernization Act
Parents need child care options that meet their family’s unique needs and support their child’s healthy development. Yet today, far too many working families struggle to find the affordable care …
Side-by-Side Analysis: Comparison of the 2025 Child Care Modernization Act to Current Law
The following is a summary of key revisions the bicameral Child Care Modernization Act would introduce to the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. Among other changes, …
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 Child Care Modernization Act: A Step Forward for Families
The Child Care Modernization Act has earned broad bipartisan support as a positive step forward in strengthening child care and supporting both providers and the families they serve.
What you can do
Ask your Members of Congress to support the bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act.
