Why This Matters

In recent years, policymakers in DC have implemented changes to subsidy policies and practices to improve access to quality child care for families with low incomes, such as increasing child care subsidy rates, capping family copayments, expanding subsidy eligibility, offering an online application, and allowing providers to determine family eligibility for subsidy. These changes in policies and practices were designed to make it easier for providers and families to participate in the child care subsidy program, but questions exist about whether the changes made it easier or created administrative burden as families and providers adapted to follow new rules.

What We Found

• Allowing some center-based providers to determine family eligibility for child care subsidy and creating an online application for subsidy expanded families’ access to child care.
• Changes in rates and subsidy policies reduced financial pressures on child care providers and supported improvements in providers’ quality.
• To improve the implementation of DC’s subsidy policies and practices, child care providers recommend DC government agencies ensure consistent messaging on requirements, streamline the timing and frequency of changes, create simple guides about subsidy processes, and continue to give providers opportunities to weigh in on policy decisions.

How We Did It

An Urban Institute team of researchers administered a survey to a representative sample of child care centers and family child care providers participating in the child care subsidy program, achieving a response rate of 45 percent (N=38). Thirty respondents were from child care centers and 8 respondents were from family child care homes. The team also conducted one round of focus groups (N=18) with 16 child care centers and two family child care providers participating in the subsidy program. This brief addresses three questions based on an analysis of findings from the survey and focus groups:

• Are child care providers aware of recent changes to DC child care subsidy policies? If so, how do providers learn about these changes?
• What do child care providers perceive as the benefits of recent changes to DC child care subsidy policies?
• What opportunities exist to improve implementation of DC child care subsidy policies?