Subsidy Eligibility and Equal Access Resource Page

Last Reviewed Date
January 12, 2022

Mother sitting, holding child and smilingThe Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) final rule outlines regulations for implementing the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 and administering the CCDF program, including provisions to provide equal access to stable child care for children from low-income families. These include subsidy eligibility policies, stable financial assistance, and payment rates and practices. American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) CCDF grantees with medium ($250,000 to $1 million in CCDF funds) and large (more than $1 million in CCDF funds) grant allocations are subject to the majority of the subsidy eligibility and equal access provisions in the final rule. All AI/AN CCDF grantees are exempt from the requirement to conduct a market rate survey or alternative methodology.

This resource page provides resources from the Tribal Child Care Capacity Building Center on providing equal access to stable child care for low-income families.

For Tribes with Small Allocation Sizes that choose to offer direct services, the resources on this page can be useful when designing the systems, procedures, and practices that are a part of effective subsidy administration. 

Eligibility and Equal Access Requirements

CCDF Subsidy Eligibility

Ensuring Equal Access

Policies and Procedures for Subsidy Eligibility and Equal Access

Additional Tools and Resources

More from the Child Care Technical Assistance Website

The Office of Child Care's Child Care Technical Assistance website provides training, resources, and materials to multiple stakeholder groups at the state, Tribal, regional, and local levels to support high-quality services for children and families. The following Office of Child Care's National Centers has a variety of resources to support the implementation of subsidy requirements:

  • National Center on Child Care Subsidy Innovation and Accountability (NCSIA): NCSIA provides resources and technical assistance focused on developing child care subsidy systems that are child-focused, family-friendly, and fair to providers. NCSIA works with grantees to help them reach goals related to subsidy eligibility, integrating quality and subsidy, strengthening program integrity, payment rules, rate setting, and other policies and practices that support providing high-quality care to more children from low-income families.

The Tribal Child Care Capacity Building Center can help you navigate the many resources available through the Office of Child Care's Child Care Technical Assistance website.