DOI: 10.3886/icpsr39376
title: Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Policies Database, United States, 2009-2023
title: Archival Version

description: The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) provides federal money to states and territories to provide assistance to low-income families, to obtain quality child care so they can work, attend training, or receive education. Within the broad federal parameters, States and Territories set the detailed policies. Those details determine whether a particular family will or will not be eligible for subsidies, how much the family will have to pay for the care, how families apply for and retain subsidies, the maximum amounts that child care providers will be reimbursed, and the administrative procedures that providers must follow. Thus, while CCDF is a single program from the perspective of federal law, it is in practice a different program in every state and territory.


The CCDF Policies Database project is a comprehensive, up-to-date database of CCDF policy information that supports the needs of a variety of audiences through (1) analytic data files, (2) a project website and search tool, and (3) an annual report (Book of Tables). These resources are made available to researchers, administrators, and policymakers with the goal of addressing important questions concerning the effects of child care subsidy policies and practices on the children and families served. A description of the data files, project website and search tool, and Book of Tables is provided below:


<strong>1.</strong> Detailed, longitudinal analytic <strong>data files</strong> provide CCDF policy information for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories and outlying areas that capture the policies actually in effect at a point in time, rather than proposals or legislation. They capture
changes throughout each year, allowing users to access the policies in place at any point in time between October 2009 and the most recent data release. The data are organized into 32 categories with each category of variables separated into its own dataset. The categories span five general areas of policy including:



Eligibility Requirements for Families and Children (Datasets 1-5)
Family Application, Terms of Authorization, and Redetermination (Datasets 6-13)
Family Payments (Datasets 14-18)
Policies for Providers, Including Maximum Reimbursement Rates (Datasets 19-27)
Overall Administrative and Quality Information Plans (Datasets 28-32)



The information in the data files is based primarily on the documents that caseworkers use as they work with families and providers (often termed "caseworker manuals"). The caseworker manuals generally provide much more detailed information on eligibility, family payments, and provider-related policies than the CCDF Plans submitted by states and territories to the federal government. The caseworker manuals also provide ongoing detail for periods in between CCDF Plan dates.


Each dataset contains a series of variables designed to capture the intricacies of the rules covered in the category. The variables include a mix of categorical, numeric, and text variables. Most variables have a corresponding notes field to capture additional details related to that particular variable. In addition, each category has an additional notes field to capture any information regarding the rules that is not already outlined in the category's variables.


Beginning with the 2020 files, the analytic data files are supplemented by four additional data files containing select policy information featured in the annual reports (prior to 2020, the full detail of the annual reports was reproduced as data files). The <strong>supplemental data files</strong> are available as 4 datasets (Datasets 33-36) and present key aspects of the differences in CCDF-funded programs across all states and territories as of October 1 of each year (2009-2023). The files include variables that are calculated using several variables from the analytic data files (Datasets 1-32) (such as copayment amounts for example family situations) and information that is part of the annual project reports (the annual Book of Tables) but not stored in the full database (such as summary market rate survey information from the CCDF plans).


<strong>2.</strong> The <strong>project website and search tool</strong> provide access to a point-and-click user interface. Users can select from the full set of public data to create custom tables. The website also provides access to the full range of reports and products released under the CCDF Policies Database project.


The project website and search tool and the data files provide a more detailed set of information than what the Book of Tables provides, including a wider selection of variables and policies over time.


<strong>3.</strong> The annual <strong>Book of Tables</strong> presents key aspects of the differences in CCDF funded programs across all states and territories as of October 1, 2023. The Book of Tables includes variables that are calculated using several variables from the data files (Datasets 1-32). The Book of Tables summarizes a subset of the information available in the data files, and includes information about eligibility requirements for families and children; application, redetermination, priority, and waiting list policies; family co-payments; and provider policies and payment rates. In many cases, a variable in the Book of Tables will correspond to a single variable in the data files. Usually, the variable options used in the Book of Tables will match the variable options in the data files. In some cases, the wording of the variable options may have been slightly modified for the tables.
description: To create a comprehensive, up-to-date database of child care subsidy policies for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and United States territories, and from that information to create books of tables and analytic files that will be accessible and useable by researchers and other analysts.
description: Information was coded into the database based on a review of child care subsidy policy manuals. The information that was compiled was submitted to state and territory contacts for verification. In states with substantial within-state policy variation -- and different policy manuals for different areas/counties -- the policy manual for the largest area/county was used.
description: Criteria for Application and Eligibility; Definitions of Family and Income; Asset Tests Verification; Redetermination; Requirements for Reporting Changes; Appeals; Terms of Authorization; Priority and Waiting List Policies; Copay Exemptions Adjustments, Administration, Income Thresholds and Amount; Reimbursement Rates and Policies; Policies for Legally Unregulated Home-Based Providers; Administration; Program and Professional Development; Quality; Early Learning Guidelines
description: The data are not weighted, and no weight variables are present in the collection.
description: This collection included data from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and United States territories and outlying areas. No sampling was used.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Basic Criteria for Eligibility Data
DS2: Definition of Family Data
DS3: Income Definition Data
DS4: Eligibility Thresholds Data
DS5: Asset Tests Data
DS6: Basic Application Criteria Data
DS7: Verification Data
DS8: Redetermination Data
DS9: Requirements for Reporting Changes Data
DS10: Appeals Data
DS11: Terms of Authorization Data
DS12: Priority Policies Data
DS13: Waiting List Policies Data
DS14: Copayment Exemptions Data
DS15: Copayment Adjustments Data
DS16: Copayment Administration Data
DS17: Copayment Income Thresholds Data
DS18: Copayment Amount Data
DS19: Reimbursement Rate Policies Data
DS20: Reimbursement Rates Data
DS21: Basic Eligibility and Other Requirements for Unregulated Providers Data
DS22: Background Checks for Unregulated Providers Data
DS23: Training Requirements for Unregulated Providers Data
DS24: TB Prevention Requirements for Unregulated Providers Data
DS25: Health and Safety Checklist Requirements for Unregulated Providers Data
DS26: Other Provider Policies Data
DS27: Other Provider Policies: Who May Provide Care Data
DS28: Administration Data
DS29: Program Development Data
DS30: Quality Data
DS31: Early Learning Guidelines Data
DS32: Professional Development Data
DS33: Book of Tables: Calculated Family Copayments Data
DS34: Book of Tables: Calculated Provider Reimbursement Rates Data
DS35: Book of Tables: Market Rate Survey Information Data
DS36: Book of Tables: Status of State Review of Annual Report Data
description: The information about the policies in effect for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories and outlying areas. Smallest Geographic Unit: State level data in most cases, with select county level data for some states.
description: Data are provided in Excel, SPSS, SAS, Stata, and R formats. Due to limitations in the statistical packages, all notes variables and any variables containing qualitative data (greater than 244 characters) are available in Microsoft Excel format only.The documentation is comprised of the following files:

Codebooks that provide summary statistics, frequencies, and variable descriptions
An introductory document that provides a detailed description of the CCDF Policies Database project, data files, and Book of Tables including general notes and concepts, specific comments on issues with particular datasets and more
A guide on using the Excel data files, including when to use Excel files versus the Book of Tables

Users familiar with the CCDF Policies Database series will note that the documentation previously released as the User Guide is now available as three separate files: an introduction to the CCDF Policies data collection containing ICPSR processing notes, a codebook for the main data files (DS1-DS32), and a codebook for the supplemental data files (DS33-DS36).
<strong>NOTE: ICPSR codebooks are currently not available for this collection.</strong>In general, each variable has a corresponding NOTES field to capture additional details related to that particular variable. Each dataset has an additional overall Notes field to capture any information regarding the rules that are not already outlined in the variables.
Project Director: Sarah Minton


Project Manager: Kelly Dwyer


Senior Project Advisor: Linda Giannarelli


Additional Research Staff: Danielle Kwon, Margaret Todd, Kara Harkins, Silke Taylor, and Farnoosh Johnson
Reports based on this data collection are available at the Administration for Children and Families and The Urban Institute websites.