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.
You are here
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
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..
Filter By
This webinar provided Lead Agencies with strategies for strengthening Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program integrity with evaluations of internal polices and processes and reviewed some tools that can be used to evaluate program compliance, fiscal accountability, and increase program...
This PowerPoint presentation was developed for the United Council on Welfare Fraud’s annual training event. The resource includes:
- An overview of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and the importance of program integrity within the states’ child care subsidy program. ...
This presentation covers background check requirements under the Child Care and Development Fund. Topics include:
- categories of checks and their differences
- applicability to providers and staff
- disqualifying crimes
- processes for appeals and review...
In the third webinar of our fiscal year 2021 program integrity quarterly series, we discussed what internal controls are and why they are so important, provided examples of how internal controls support fiscal, policy, and process decisions for CCDF, and introduced some of the tools that can be...
This document provides an overview of Child Care and Development Fund Program Funding in the American Rescue Plan Act for states and territories. It includes an overview of the requirements and allowable uses of the $39 billion in child care funds in this Act.
This brief is for Lead Agencies and provides considerations and tips for working with key decisionmakers at the legislative, executive, or Tribal leadership levels for American Rescue Plan Act budget authorization. It also provides guidance for navigating the agency planning, budget, and...
In the second webinar for the FY 2021 program integrity webinar series, the National Center on Subsidy Innovation and Accountability shared strategies to strengthen Child Care and Development Fund accountability, specifically in the areas of fiscal, process, and program accountability. A New...
This brief highlights mechanisms for identifying special populations and strategies Lead Agencies can use to support access to child care.
The purpose of this tool, used in conjunction with the Affordable Co-payments Brief, is to allow Lead Agencies to evaluate whether they meet policy requirements for setting affordable co-payments, explore policy flexibilities available to them, and consider the impacts on administration when...
This brief provides a summary of family co-payment requirements for Lead Agencies included in the CCDF Rule. It outlines mandates as well as areas of flexibility in co-payment policies and sliding fee scale structures.