Federal Funding

 

Click image to see the funding breakdown. 

Federal funding for early care and education is a critical issue in California – especially because the majority of California’s early care and education funding is provided by federal sources. While K-12 education receives about two-thirds of its funding from state and local sources, and a smaller fraction from federal programs, early care and education receives the opposite—two-thirds of its funding from the federal government, and a smaller fraction from state and local sources. Thus, federal funding is essential for the success and maintenance of California’s early care and education programs.

Though federal funding comes through a variety of national sources, California’s early care and education administrators coordinate the mix of grants and specialized programs to serve families through an integrated early care and education subsidy program.

Early Care and Education Funding Streams:  

What are the major federal funding streams that contribute to California’s early care and education programs? 

Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG):


A program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) was created in 1990 to provide child care subsidies for low-income working families, families receiving public assistance and families transitioning from public assistance. The CCDBG Act authorizes the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), designed to expand access to quality child care on a national scale and promote early childhood development coordination. The CCDBG is the main source of funding for the California Department of Education as well as child development programs including the General Child Care Program, the California State Preschool Program, CalWORKS Stage 2 and 3 and the Alternative Payment Program for child care. 

In Federal Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09), approximately $827 million was allocated to California through the CCDBG.

Find more information on the Child Care and Development Fund, authorized by CCDBG.   


Head Start and Early Head Start


Head Start and Early Head Start are administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Head Start works to promote school readiness by providing educational, health, nutritional and other services to children through age 5 in low-income families. The program has greatly expanded since its creation in 1965 and now includes Early Head Start, which serves children from prenatal to age 3.

In Federal Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09):

  • $859 million was allocated to California’s Head Start / Early Head Start program.
    • More than 80 percent of the funds served low-income 3 and 4 year olds.
    • More than 70 percent of the funds served California's Latino community.
    • In total, more than 100,000 young children were served by California's Head Start / Early Head Start program.
  • Additionally, 65 percent of California Head Start agencies contracted with the Department of Education’s Child Development Division; these funding collaborations, common between Head Start and divisions of the California State Preschool Program, benefited thousands of California’s youngest learners in FY09.


Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF):


TANF is a block grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Family Assistance to provide temporary assistance and work opportunities to needy families. TANF meets this goal by granting states the federal funds and flexibility to develop their own public assistance programs. This program is not only designed to assist families so that children can be cared for in their own homes, but to reduce the dependency of needy parents and turn welfare into a program of temporary assistance. TANF funds the California Department of Social Services to support CalWORKS Stage 1, which serves approximately 60,000 children.

In Federal Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09), approximately $925 million was spent on California's TANF program.

Resources


Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)


IDEA is a federal law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. It authorizes and governs state and local aid for early intervention, special education and related services for 6.5 million eligible individuals from birth to age 21, including approximately 700,000 3 to 5 year olds with IDEA Part B. The early intervention program for babies and toddlers, called IDEA Part C, helps the families of children with disabilities from birth through age 2, while 3 to 5 year olds receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B.

To learn more about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, visit the IDEA webpage.


Title 1

Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), enacted in 1965, provides funding to school districts to serve low-income students.

Title 1 programs have historically emphasized serving elementary school students; however, the current reauthorization of the ESEA, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, allows the use of Title I funds for preschool programs. This new attention to early care and education takes into account the positive experience of model programs for the educationally disadvantaged and the findings of scientifically-based research demonstrating the effects of early intervention for children in low-income families and communities. California’s Title 1 preschools help our state’s youngest learners to prepare for success in kindergarten and beyond.

Find more information on California’s Title 1 Preschool Programs.

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