Enrollment Size and Subsidy Density of Child Care Centers Receiving Child Care Subsidies in 2019

Introduction

Child care and early education (CCEE) plays a critical role for young children and working parents in the U.S.  One of the challenges faced by families with low incomes is how to pay for child care. The federal government provides states and territories with funding to provide financial assistance to families with low incomes to help them pay for child care. This assistance, through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) child care subsidy program, often comes in the form of subsidy vouchers to qualifying families, contracted slots for children of eligible families, and grants that pay for some or all of the costs of child care needed when parents are at work, receiving training, or attending school. In 2019, 47% of all centers reported receiving CCDF subsidies. Subsidy density is the percentage of a center’s enrolled children under age 13 whose care is funded by CCDF child care subsidies. Subsidy density may affect providers’ finances and families’ experiences.

This infographic presents estimates of receipt of subsidies in center-based CCEE using data from the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE). It provides the proportion of centers receiving subsidies and the average number of children served at each center by subsidy density.

Primary Research Questions

• How many centers reported receiving CCDF subsidies in 2019?
• How is a center’s subsidy density related to the number of children a center serves?

Purpose

This infographic describes CCEE centers’ subsidy receipt in 2019 using data from the nationally-representative 2019 NSECE Center-based Provider Survey.

Key Findings and Highlights

• In 2019, 47% of all centers reported receiving CCDF subsidies
• 16% of all centers received CCDF subsidies and had subsidy densities of less than 25%, and on average, 85 children were enrolled in each of these centers
• 10% of all centers have subsidy densities greater than or equal to 50%—most of their enrolled children receive CCDF subsidies

Methods

This infographic draws from data collected in the 2019 NSECE Center-based Provider Survey. In the NSECE, a center-based provider is defined as the set of all CCEE services to children birth through five years, not yet in kindergarten, provided by an organization at a single location. Center-based providers were identified from a national provider sampling frame built from state or national administrative lists such as state licensing lists, Head Start program records, or lists of public pre-K programs obtained from each state. These providers included regulated, licensed, and other private providers as well. Respondents to this nationally-representative survey were directors or other instructional leaders of center-based CCEE providers to children age five and under, not yet in kindergarten. For this infographic, 2019 tabulations’ data are for approximately 6,900 centers.

Citation

A R Datta, I Ventura, (2023). Enrollment size and subsidy density of child care centers receiving child care subsidies in 2019, OPRE Report No. 2023-008, Washington DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Glossary

Subsidies - from the CCDF such as vouchers, certificates, or state contracts, help children and their families afford CCEE.

Subsidy density - is the percentage of a center’s enrolled children under age 13 whose care is funded by CCDF child care subsidies. Subsidy density may affect providers’ finances and families’ experiences.