How does your state help low-income families with babies and toddlers
afford quality child care through subsidies and other mechanisms?
March 12, 2010
This matrix represents one of five sections in CLASP’s product A Tool Using Data to Inform a
State Infant/Toddler Care Agenda. Instructions for using this tool are located at the end of this
document. The full data tool, other individual sections, and other tools for CLASP’s Charting
Progress for Babies in Child Care project are available at
www.clasp.org/babiesinchildcare/tools.
Data Source
Question
National
State
See the National Association of
Child Care Resource and
Referral Agencies report,
Parents and the High Price of
Child Care. Data by county
may be available through Child
Care Resource and Referral
Networks.
What is the average price of
infant care in a center?
The average annual price of
full-time infant care in a center
ranged from $4,560 to $15,895
in 2008.
Insert data here.
See the National Association of
Child Care Resource and
Referral Agencies report,
Parents and the High Price of
Child Care. Data by county
may be available through Child
Care Resource and Referral
Networks.
What is the average price of
accredited infant center care?
What is the price difference for
accredited care? (Note: not all
states reported on accredited
care to NACCRRA.)
The average annual price of
full-time accredited care for an
infant in a center ranged from
$4,560 to $16,835 in 2008.
Accredited care was up to 37.5
percent more expensive.
Insert data here.
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Data Source
See the National Center for
Children in Poverty, Basic
Budgets Calculator; 14 states
currently available.
Question
National
What income would a family
need to be able to afford centerbased child care for children,
birth to age 3, in your state?
Family child care?
State
Insert data here.
See the National Women’s Law What are the income eligibility
Center Report, State Child Care requirements for receiving
Assistance Policies 2009.
child care assistance for a
family of three?
13 states set income eligibility
Insert data here.
so that a family of three with an
income above 150 percent of
FPL could not qualify for
assistance in 2009. 39 states set
eligibility so that a family of
three with an income above
200 percent of FPL could not
qualify for assistance.
See the National Women’s Law What is the state
Center Report, State Child Care reimbursement rate compared
Assistance Policies 2009.
to the market rate for a 1-yearold in center care?
In 2009, nine states set their
state reimbursement rate for 1year-olds in center care at the
75th percentile of a market rate
survey, while one state set their
rate above the 75th percentile.
Insert data here.
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Data Source
Question
National
State
See CLASP In the States, Child Among families receiving
Care State Profiles.
CCDBG, what is the average
monthly copayment that
families pay to providers (as a
percent of income)?
In 2008, 64 percent of all
families receiving CCDBG
assistance had a copayment for
care. Of these families, the
average copayment as a percent
of monthly income was 6
percent.
Insert data here.
See CLASP In the States, Child What percent of children
Care State Profiles.
served in the state child care
assistance program are served
through grants/contracts?
10 percent of children receiving Insert data here.
CCDBG were served through
grants/contracts in 2008.
See state CCDBG
administrator.
If your state uses contracts to
provide child care assistance, is
there any state data available
on how those programs serve
infants and toddlers?
In their 2008-2009 CCDBG
plans, six states reported
contracting directly with
programs to provide infant and
toddler care.1
See state CCDBG
administrator.
Does your state have a waiting
list for infant/toddler child care
assistance?
Insert data here.
Insert data here.
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Data Source
Question
National
State
See your state Department of
Labor.
What are the family/medical
leave rules in the state?
See the U.S. Department of
Labor website for federal rules.
Insert data here.
See the National Women’s Law
Center website for the original
report Making Care Less
Taxing plus updates on state
and federal child and dependent
care tax provisions.
See state TANF agency or the
National Center for Children in
Poverty (NCCP) Early
Childhood Profiles.
Does the state have a
refundable dependent care tax
credit?
In 2009, 13 states offered a
refundable dependent care tax
credit.
Insert data here.
See state TANF agency.
What exemptions are in the
state program funded by
Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) for
parents with infants?
How does the state guarantee
that a TANF parent is not
penalized if they are unable to
meet work requirements based
on being unable to find child
care for a child under age 6?
Insert data here.
Federal TANF law prohibits
states from penalizing parents
for failing to meet work
requirements if they cannot
find adequate child care for a
child under age 6.
Insert data here.
March 15, 2010
Endnotes: Where indicated, the data source for the national column differs from that listed in the Data Source column.
1
Source: National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center, Child Care and Development Fund Report of State and Territory Plans FY 20082009, Part 5 - Activities and Services to Improve the Quality and Availability of Child Care, 106, http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/stateplan2008-09/.
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Purpose of this Tool: This tool is intended for state advocates and policymakers to use as they work to develop a state
infant/toddler care agenda. It includes a series of key questions to understand the context and conditions of infants and toddlers in the
state. Questions include data on demographics and program participation (such as health and nutrition programs), as well as details of
the child care and early education settings in the state. Where possible, links to online data sources are provided, including both
original sources and organizations that have analyzed multiple datasets. By following these links, groups can find data specific to their
state to populate the tool. Data may not always be available specific to children birth to age three. In some cases, it may be useful to
compare one’s own state data to that of neighboring or similar states, or to national figures that can provide context of how infants and
toddlers are faring on key indicators.
Once compiled, these data could be analyzed to identify any trends, areas of need for policy change, and opportunities to support the
case for increased investment. Groups using this tool will want to take these data into consideration along with their strategic
understanding of the political opportunities within the state. This tool is one of a set of materials available through CLASP to help
states identify the needs of families with infants and toddlers in their state and identify policy solutions to meet those needs.
Free assistance in using this tool, and additional supporting resources, are available from CLASP. Please contact Elizabeth
Hoffmann, 202-906-8008 or [email protected].
How to Use this Tool: This tool is organized as a matrix with four columns. In the first three columns, CLASP has identified a
series of key questions relevant to informing an agenda for infant/toddler care; highlighted a suggested data source, including
hyperlinks to online resources when possible; and provided a national data point as appropriate. Users can download and save a copy
of this tool, open the tool in Microsoft Word, then fill in the last column with their state’s data. To fill in state information, click on
any of the editable regions (denoted with a yellow background) and being typing. Note that users must start typing at the top of a cell
in the table, but that the table will expand to accommodate all inserted text, which may flow across page lines.
Note: Much of the data in this tool is updated annually. The hyperlinks in the Data Source column strive to be specific to the data
sought, yet broad enough that users can easily find the most recent data available. All data reported in the National column includes a
date, which indicates the most recent data available at the time of publication of this tool. If users find that newer data has been posted
for their state, they may wish to look up the newer national data as well, in order to compare the same years of data.
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Other Availability:
The full version of the data tool contains five sections:
 Who are the children (and their families)?
 Where are children in child care and early education?
 How strong is the licensing/monitoring floor in your state?
 How does your state help low-income families with babies and toddlers afford quality child care through subsidies and other
mechanisms?
 How is your state thinking about improving the quality of care for babies and toddlers?
The full data tool, other individual sections, and other tools for CLASP’s Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project are
available at www.clasp.org/babiesinchildcare/tools.
1015 15th Street NW • Suite 400 • Washington, DC 20005 • p (202) 906.8000 • f (202) 842.2885 • www.clasp.org