National Snapshot of State Agency Approaches to Child Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Federal law requires agencies of State government to prepare for disasters, including the need to provide for the continuity of child care. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program provides subsidized child care services to low-income families, families receiving temporary public assistance, and families transitioning from public assistance so that family members can work or attend training or education. This audit provides a national snapshot of State-level approaches to some of the issues posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in child care settings. Our objective was to identify the approaches that CCDF lead agencies in each State and the District of Columbia (State agencies) adopted to ensure access to safe child care as well as to protect the providers rendering that care in their CCDF programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.