Overview of the CCDBG Statute and Regulations

CCDBG Statute

The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act and section 418 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 618), as amended, provide the statutory authority for implementation of the CCDF program.

CCDF Final Regulations

The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Care (OCC) publishes rules to govern the CCDF program. These are often referred to as CCDF final rules. The CCDF rules, which consist of a preamble and the corresponding regulatory sections, provide clarity to states on how to implement the law and administer the program. The preamble provides a summary of the rule’s provisions, supplementary information, and a description of public comments received and responses to those comments. [Note: When final regulations and the accompanying preamble are published in the Federal Register, they continue to apply if not superseded by subsequent rule changes.]

The CCDF regulations are found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 45 C.F.R., parts 98 and 99. These regulations contain provisions that were published in the following four final rules. [1] The Code of Federal Regulations that govern the CCDF program consists of the following:

  1. 2016 CCDF Final Rule, published on September 30, 2016, with an effective date of November 29, 2016. This final rule was based on CCDBG Act of 2014.

  2. 1998 CCDF Final Rule, published July 24, 1998, with an effective date of August 24, 1998. This final rule implemented the child care provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 (Public Law 104-193). The program was named CCDF.

  3. CCDF State Match Provisions Final Rule, published May 18, 2007, with an effective date of October 1, 2007. This final rule revised the CCDF regulations to give states increased flexibility in making the necessary state expenditures on child care to access their full allotment of CCDF federal matching funds. [2]

  4. CCDF Error Rate Reporting Final Rule, published September 5, 2007, with an effective date of October 1, 2007. This final rule established requirements for the reporting of error rates in the expenditure of CCDF grant funds by the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. [3]

Where do I get more information about CCDF? The federal law, federal regulations, guidance, Program Instruction, and Information Memorandum from the Office of Child Care are posted on the OCC website. [4]

 


[1] Office of Child Care. (2012). CCDF final regulations. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/law-regulation/ccdf-final-regulations

[2] Child Care and Development Fund, 45 C.F.R. § 98.55 (2016).

[3] Child Care and Development Fund, 45 C.F.R. §§ 98.100–98.102 (2016)

[4]Office of Child Care. (n.d.). Child Care and Development Fund Reauthorization. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/ccdf-reauthorization; and Office of Child Care. (n.d.). Policy & program resources. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource-library