The Understanding the CARES Act brief is a supplement to the CCDF Information Memorandum (CCDF-ACF-IM-2020-01) released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on April 29, 2020.
National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability
The National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability (NCSIA) provides technical assistance to Child Care and Development Fund programs in developing child care subsidy systems that are child-focused, family-friendly, and fair to providers. NCSIA works with grantees to help them reach goals in the following areas:
- Subsidy eligibility
- Integrating quality and subsidy
- Strengthening program integrity and fiscal accountability
- Error rate reporting
- Comprehensive background checks
- Equal access, including rate setting, payment practices, family co-payments, and other policies and practices that support building the supply of and providing high-quality care to more children from low-income families
Highlighted Tools and Resources:
Equal access and market rate surveys are important concepts for CCDF leaders. Market rate surveys can impact payment rates, which must be sufficient to ensure equal access.
Collaboration Between CCDF and TANF to Meet the Needs of Low-Income Working Families outlines why collaboration with TANF is important and the beginning steps in collaboration. It also offers examples of how CCDF and TANF can collaborate, including various state initiatives and highlights fiscal considerations for both programs.
The CCDF Fraud Toolkit is an evolving resource designed to assist CCDF Lead Agencies in increasing program integrity and accountability and decreasing fraud within their child care programs.
The Grantee Internal Controls Self-Assessment Instrument is designed to assist grantees in assessing how well their policies and procedures meet the Child Care and Development Fund's (CCDF) regulatory requirements in the areas of program integrity and financial accountability.
Comprehensive background check resources are available that break down the requirements into easier to understand language.
Guidance on Estimating and Reporting the Costs of Child Care aims to support Lead Agencies and their partners as they create cost estimates, prepare detailed reports, and use cost estimates to inform their rate setting.
The Error Rate Review training module provides state administrative staff with background on the federal error rate review and covers the steps needed to complete the error rate review process..
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On January 12, 2023, OCC and the National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability (NCSIA) hosted a joint webinar to review the guide, share best practices in the design of enrollment systems and offer program integrity strategies, with the goal of helping Lead Agencies identify elements...
This resource simplifies finding criminal background check contact information for other states. It is maintained by the National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability (NCSIA). Web links are tested prior to posting the contact list, however web links are often updated and therefore...
This brief defines narrow cost analysis; defines and discusses child care costs and prices; and explains how narrow cost analysis helps inform payment rates. It is the first in a series of three resources...
Grants and contracts are good strategies for building the supply and quality of infant and toddler care, and Lead Agencies have broad authority to use them with other government or non-governmental organizations. This resource is designed to support contracts for direct service slots and...
Many Lead Agencies have created websites or have developed technological solutions to help streamline the process for child care background checks. This brief provides some state examples.
This webinar, Maintaining Program Integrity with ARP Act Child Care Stabilization Grants, featured a panel of Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agency staff from Massachusetts and Wisconsin. The panel shared strategies for successfully implementing the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act...
This guide focuses primarily on issues related to the Federal checks that are required by CCDBG and does not address all of the required components, most notably the child abuse and neglect (CAN) registry checks.
This brief is part of an ongoing effort with the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care (OCC) to provide guidance to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies concerning the implementation of criminal background check requirements. It discusses the benefits...
This guide outlines strategies for increasing reliable subsidy revenue for providers. Strategies include payment by enrollment, flexible attendance policies, and paying prospectively. Hurdles Lead Agencies may encounter in implementing these strategies are addressed and program integrity...
This working tool will help Lead Agencies customize a plan and timeline for data gathering to inform provider rate setting. The tool guides an agency’s plan for engaging partners, pre-data gathering activities, identifying resources including whether and how to use contractors, planning methods...
