Resource Library

The Head Start Act and the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act allow American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start grant recipients and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Tribal Lead Agencies to use federal funds to construct or improve early childhood facilities.

The Office of Child Care, Office of Early Childhood Development, and the Office of Head Start published a joint Information Memorandum that details ways that ACF's early childhood funds may be used to connect young children and families with traditional Indigenous foods and food practices, including CCDF, AIAN Head Start, and Tribal MIECHV.

This Information Memorandum (IM) provides an overview and guidance to Tribal CCDF lead agencies, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start award recipients, and Tribal MIECHV recipients regarding how CCDF, Head Start, and Tribal MIECHV funds can be used to address challenges recruiting and retaining an effective Tribal early childhood workforce serving Tribal communities where access to affordable housing is limited.

The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Care (OCC), along with the Office of Head Start (OHS) and Office of Early Childhood Development (ECD), and with support from the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance (ECQA) released the Early Care and Education Workforce Salary Scale Playbook: Implementation Guide on April 25, 2024.  This resource is designed for state, local and ECE program leaders and provides practical guidance on the essential actions necessary to build and implement a comprehensive, salary scale for early educators and caregivers in ECE system and program contexts. 

To: State, territory, and Tribal lead agencies administering the Child Care and Development Fund program, and other interested parties.

Subject: Using the Child Care and Development Fund to Promote the Mental Health and Well-being of Children, Families, and the Child Care Workforce.

Reference: The Child Care and Development Fund Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.); Child Care and Development Fund Regulations (45 C.F.R. Part 98).

Purpose: This information memorandum (IM) provides guidance to Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) lead agencies regarding how CCDF funds can be used to improve the mental health and well-being of children, families, and the early care and education workforce. This IM does not include any changes to the Office of Child Care’s (OCC) existing interpretation of how CCDF funds can be used but clarifies allowable uses for supporting mental health.

Opportunities for the Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program to Promote the Mental Health and Well-being of Children, Families, and the Tribal MIECHV Workforce

The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Early Childhood Development (ECD), in partnership with the Office of Child Care (OCC) and Office of Head Start (OHS), recently announced the release of a draft Tribal Early Childhood Facilities Combined Application Guide in the Federal Register. This draft resource aims to streamline application submission and review processes for Tribal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Head Start grant recipients that jointly apply to construct, renovate, or improve early childhood facilities using both CCDF and Head Start funds. ECD is soliciting public comment on the draft application guide during a 60-day comment period.

Knowing how many distinct children have been served by one or more early childhood programs and/or services is a foundational metric for a host of early childhood policy and programmatic analyses. This document defines "Distinct Count" and describes the factors contributing to a distinct count.

This state highlight examines how Georgia and Kansas—states with different forms of governance for comprehensive early childhood care and education (ECCE)—incorporated intragovernmental partnerships into their state processes. It describes how those partnerships were leveraged to address system gaps, increase access, strengthen program alignment, and effectively respond to challenges identified in their comprehensive ECCE needs assessments.

Defines mixed delivery systems and family choice and how they are related and important Describes data elements that are important to consider and collect: Documenting and demonstrating change in MDS Information families need to make choices Demonstrates an example of providing families with data that improves their ability to make choices