Important questions on all-day school-age care answered by OCC

Many states, programs, and families can breathe a small sigh of relief this week.

With the school year starting up in many parts of the country in virtual and hybrid form, many more working parents are finding a need for school-day care for children and youth when students are not physically in school. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates more than 23 million families may be without the ability to work and care for their school-age children during the school day and afterschool this fall.

The Office of Child Care which administers the CCDF funding stream (also known as the Child Care and Development Block Grant) clarified this week that this funding stream can be used to support school-age students during virtual learning days as long as the care does not try to replicate or replace the work of educators for the school day and can receive a full-day payment rate when they do so.

The clarification was added to the Frequently Asked Questions Page on August 10 as Questions 27 and 28 on the OCC webpage. We will reprint the questions and responses below.

As of yet, the Department of Education has not yet issued a similar FAQ or guidance for the 21^st CCLC program, so states are still approaching the issue on a state-by-state basis. We do hope that this OCC guidance provides a model for understanding how these all these programs can be a supplement to the school day and a support to families and students during this critical time.

Reprinted Questions 27 and 28:

27) Can Lead Agencies use CCDF funds to pay for subsidies for school-age children who participate in remote, virtual, or online schoolwork while in child care?

Yes, Lead Agencies have the option to pay CCDF subsidies for school-age children for time in child care when the children are completing remote, virtual, or online schoolwork.  Section 658M(b) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act and section 45 CFR 98.56(c) of the CCDF regulations prohibit spending CCDF for any service provided to students enrolled in grades 1 through 12 during the regular school day.  Lead Agencies may interpret this provision (i.e., prohibiting the use of CCDF for education) to apply only to services when a child is physically at school—and not when a child is in a child care setting.  If a Lead Agency adopts this interpretation, it would be allowable (but not required) for a Lead Agency to use CCDF for child care services when children are completing remote, virtual, or online schoolwork or instruction while in child care. 

However, under the CCDBG Act and CCDF rule, regardless of whether a child is physically at school or not, it is not allowable to use CCDF for any regular education services for which students receive academic credit toward graduation or any instructional services which supplant or duplicate the academic program of any school.  Therefore, even if a Lead Agency opts to use CCDF to fund a child care provider’s caregiving and supervision of a child who is participating in remote learning, the Lead Agency cannot use CCDF to fund any instruction or services associated with academic credit or a school’s program.  Furthermore, given finite CCDF funding to meet child care needs, the federal Office of Child Care encourages Lead Agencies to set parameters that restrict the use of CCDF for child care services during times when schools are open and children are able to attend safely in-person.  It would be reasonable, for instance, for Lead Agencies to prioritize services for, or even restrict eligibility to, families with children who are unable to attend school in person because of closures or health reasons over families with children who are able to attend school in person, but opt not to.

28) Can Lead Agencies pay full-time payment rates for these school-age children on remote learning days?

Yes, Lead Agencies may pay full-time subsidy payment rates for school-age child care as long as the Lead Agency is not paying for time when a child is physically attending school and is not paying for any regular education services. Lead Agencies have the flexibility to define full-time and part-time rates.