The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 enhanced the statutory purposes of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program to better balance the dual purposes of promoting children’s healthy development and school success, and supporting parents who are working or in training or education.

Within the context of these goals, one of the stated purposes of the CCDBG Act is “to promote involvement by parents and family members in the development of their children in child care settings". [1] One of the ways in which Lead Agencies can promote involvement is through the dissemination of consumer education information. In addition, consumer education provides information about child care services and assists parents in making informed choices.

The CCDBG Act of 2014 specified dates when certain provisions were effective and allowed time for Lead Agencies to implement the new requirements:

• Monitoring, including annual inspections of CCDF providers, became effective on November 19, 2016.
• Posting results of monitoring and inspection reports became effective on November 19, 2017.
• Comprehensive background checks (CBCs) became effective on September 30, 2017 (further clarification is provided in Part 6).
• Where the Act did not specify a date, the statutory requirements became effective upon the date of enactment (November 19, 2014), and States had until September 30, 2016, to implement them.

[1] CCDBG Act of 2014 658A(b)(3).