ACF Announces Child Care Reform Package to Address Affordability, Expand Access, and Strengthen Parental Choice

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today announced a child care reform package to lower costs, expand access, and better serve families who rely on federally-funded child care programs. The package advances President Trump’s pro-family agenda by cutting red tape, restoring state flexibility, protecting taxpayer dollars, and opening the door to more child care options tailored to the needs and preferences of American families.

“Parents know their children better than Washington bureaucrats do,” said ACF Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams. “For too long, centralized federal control undermined parents’ autonomy, raised the cost of child care while restricting arrangement options, and tolerated conditions in which fraud, waste, and abuse could flourish. Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, federal child care policy will now deliver affordable expansive options for families while strengthening program integrity.”

Today’s actions include rulemaking and program guidance designed to make existing federal child care dollars work better for more families. The reforms center parents as the primary decision-maker of the care that works best for their children and families and respect the role of states in tailoring programs to local needs, rather than imposing one-size-fits all federal mandates that raise costs, limit supply, and crowd out providers. ACF actions include:

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Information Memorandum: Encourages states to transfer more TANF funds to Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) to expand child care access and clarifies that TANF can support needy married two-parent families in which one parent works and the other cares for a child at home. 

CCDF Dear Colleague Letter: Clarifies that faith-based providers and family, friend, and neighbor caregivers can play a larger role in federally supported child care, which can expand parent choice and reduce unnecessary barriers for the trusted providers and caregivers many families already rely on. 

Final Rule, Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF): Rescinds Biden-era policies that pushed states toward grants and contracts over parent-directed vouchers, restoring state flexibility, parental choice, and stronger safeguards against waste, fraud, and abuse. 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Restoring Flexibility to Support Head Start Program Access: Proposal to remove burdensome Biden-era personnel mandates, including wage and benefit requirements, that would have raised provider costs, reduced available slots, and limited access for children and families. 

To highlight these actions, ACF sent a letter to all governors urging states to use every available CCDF and TANF flexibility to expand child care access, support married two-parent families, and respect parents’ child care choices — especially for families who choose to have a parent remain at home with young children.

Taken together, these actions free up resources that support hundreds of thousands of additional child care slots and build on President Trump’s historic record of supporting working families.