Securing the Future: Examining Dedicated Sources of Funding for Child Care Subsidy Programs

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Access to high-quality child care is essential for a family’s active workforce participation and children’s healthy development. Child care is not just a service—it is crucial infrastructure that supports economic stability and growth both for families and states.

State funding mechanisms earmarked for child care subsidies have the potential to provide much needed resources to support transformative changes in early childhood education. The long-term stability and predictability gained from these sustainable sources of funding can enable states to implement tailored approaches that effectively meet their unique needs. This is particularly important as states grapple with the expiration of relief funds.

This report provides examples of state-level funding streams being used to support child care—and child care subsidy programs, in particular—including excise taxes, oil and gas revenue, payroll contributions, and capital gains taxes.

©December 2024, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, All Rights Reserved. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University translates research on the best public investments into state policy actions that produce results for young children and society.

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