Early Childhood Care and Education Programs in the 110th Congress: Background and Funding

Early Childhood Care and Education Programs
th
in the 110 Congress: Background and Funding
Updated February 7, 2008
Melinda Gish and Gail McCallion
Specialists in Social Policy
Domestic Social Policy Division



Early Childhood Care and Education Programs
in the 110th Congress: Background and Funding
Summary
Federal support for child care and education comes in many forms, ranging from
grant programs to tax provisions. Some programs serve as specifically dedicated
funding sources for child care services (e.g., the Child Care and Development Block
Grant, or CCDBG) or education programs (e.g., Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, Title I, Part A; Early Reading First; Even Start; the 21st Century
Community Learning Centers Program; the Early Childhood Educator Professional
Development program; and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act —
Preschool Grants program and Infants and Toddlers program), while for others (e.g.,
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF), child care is just one of many
purposes for which funds may be used. In many cases, federal programs target low-
income families in need of child care, but in the case of certain tax provisions, the
benefits reach middle- and upper-income families as well. This report provides an
overview of federal child care, early education, and related programs, and their
funding status.
Funding for many child care, early education, and related programs is provided
each year as part of the annual appropriations process for the Departments of Health
and Human Services (HHS), and Education (ED). Fiscal year (FY) 2007
appropriations bills for those departments did not receive floor action in the House
or Senate during the 109th Congress, despite the 2007 fiscal year beginning on
October 1, 2006. After three continuing resolutions (CRs) provided temporary
funding for government operations, a fourth CR, providing funding through the end
of FY2007, was ultimately signed into law (P.L. 110-5) on February 15, 2007, shortly
after the President’s budget request for FY2008 was released. For several but not all
of the programs covered by this report, the FY2007 funding levels mirrored those
included in the FY2006 appropriations (P.L. 109-149). Funding for Head Start was
increased, as was that for Early Reading First. Even Start funding was cut, but not
eliminated as had been proposed by the President.
The FY2008 appropriations process, which included a series of continuing
resolutions that provided temporary funding (at FY2007 levels) and a vetoed
conference agreement (H.Rept. 110-424), ultimately culminated in the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2008 (H.R. 2764) being signed into law (P.L. 110-161) by the
President on December 26, 2007. The legislation includes an across-the-board cut
(1.747%) to the program funding level amounts contained in the act’s language. (The
levels included in this report reflect the across-the-board reduction.) On February 4,

2008, the President released his budget request for FY2009.


The 110th Congress has not addressed all of the expired (or soon expiring)
reauthorizations in the area of early childhood education and care. The CCDBG
(expired with FY2002) remains funded without authorization. No Child Left Behind
was granted an automatic one-year extension (through FY2008) under the General
Education Provisions Act. Head Start reauthorization legislation (H.R. 1429) was
approved by this Congress in November 2007, and signed into law (P.L. 110-134)
by the President on December 12, 2007.



Contents
Federal Child Care and Early Education Programs and Tax Provisions........1
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)..................1
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)...................3
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).......................3
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)...............................3
Head Start....................................................4
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I, Part A........5
Early Reading First............................................5
The William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Programs
(Even Start)..............................................5
Early Childhood Educator Professional Development.................6
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Programs...........6
Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CAMPIS)................7
Early Learning Fund/Early Learning Opportunities Act Program.........7
Dependent Care Tax Credit (DCTC)...............................8
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP)........................8
FY2007 Appropriations............................................11
FY2008 Appropriations............................................11
FY2009 President’s Budget.........................................13
List of Tables
Table 1. Funding for Federal Early Childhood Care, Education, and
Related Programs, FY2003-FY2008...............................9
Table 3. FY2008 Appropriations: Funding Levels in thePresident’s
FY2008 Request, Senate Committee Bill, House Bill, Vetoed
Conference Agreement, and Final Bill.............................12
Table 4. President’s FY2009 Funding Request Compared to FY2008
Appropriation ................................................13



Early Childhood Care and Education
th
Programs in the 110 Congress:
Background and Funding
Federal Child Care and
Early Education Programs and Tax Provisions
Several federal programs support child care, education, or related services,
primarily for low-income working families. In addition, the tax code includes
provisions specifically targeted to assist families with child care expenses.
Descriptions of those programs and tax provisions follow, as does Table 1, which
shows funding (or obligations or tax expenditures, where applicable and available)
for the programs and tax provisions for the past five years. In many cases, other
Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports are referenced as sources for more
detailed information about individual programs.
Early childhood care and education programs still due to be reauthorized in the
110th Congress include the Child Care and Development Block Grant and programs
under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA). Legislation to reauthorize Head Start
(H.R. 1429), a program whose authorization expired with FY2003, was signed into
law (P.L. 110-134) by the President on December 12, 2007. All of these programs
have continued to receive funding. The NCLBA programs include Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I, Part A, Early Reading First, Even Start, and
the Early Childhood Educator Professional Development program. Programs for
young children contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),
such as the Preschool Grants program and the Infants and Toddlers program, are not
up for reauthorization in the 110th Congress. Readers should be aware that this report
does not attempt to cover all issues connected with each of those reauthorizations.
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)1
The primary federal grant program funding child care is the CCDBG, which was
created in 1990 and reauthorized (through FY2002) and substantially expanded in
1996, as part of welfare reform. The CCDBG is overdue for reauthorization, and the
110th Congress has inherited this unfinished task. (Although the 109th Congress
completed legislation to provide the mandatory funding portion for the CCDBG
through FY2010, the CCDBG Act itself, which outlines the rules of program, and
includes the authorization level for discretionary funding, awaits reauthorization. In


1 For more information, see CRS Report RL30785, The Child Care and Development Block
Grant: Background and Funding, by Melinda Gish.

the meantime, discretionary funding has been provided via the appropriations
process.)
The CCDBG is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS), and provides formula block grants to states, which use the grants to subsidize
the child care expenses of families with children under age 13, if the parents are
working or in school, and family income is less than 85% of the state median. (In
practice, many states establish income eligibility levels that are lower than this
federal threshold.) Child care services are provided on a sliding fee scale basis, and
parents may choose to receive assistance through vouchers or certificates, which can
be used with a provider of the parents’ choice, including religious providers and
relatives.
States receiving CCDBG funds must establish child care licensing standards,
although federal law does not dictate what these standards should be or what types
of providers must be covered. In addition, states must have health and safety
requirements applicable to all providers receiving CCDBG subsidies that address
prevention and control of infectious diseases, building and physical premises safety,
and health and safety training for care givers. However, federal law does not dictate
the specific contents of these requirements.
The CCDBG is funded through both discretionary and capped entitlement
(mandatory) grants (referred to in combination as the Child Care and Development
Fund (CCDF)), and state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) and matching requirements
apply to part of the entitlement funds.2 States must use at least 4% of their total
funds to improve the quality and availability of child care, and according to statute,
must target 70% of entitlement funds on welfare recipients working toward self-
sufficiency or families at risk of welfare dependency. However, because all families
falling below the 85% of state median income requirement can be categorized as “at
risk,” the 70% targeting of the welfare or at-risk population does not necessarily
mean welfare families must be served. In theory, all funds may be used for low-
income, non-welfare, working families. However, state plans indicate that many
states guarantee child care to welfare families. No more than 5% of state allotments
may be used for state administrative costs.
The FY2006 Appropriations Act for the Departments of Labor, HHS, and
Education (P.L. 109-149) included roughly $2.1 billion in discretionary funding for
the CCDBG. (An across-the-board rescission of 1% brought the precise total to
$2.062 billion.) The fourth and final CR (P.L. 110-5) covering FY2007 maintained
discretionary funding at the $2.1 billion level. Mandatory (or “entitlement”) CCDBG
funding beginning in FY2003 through FY2005 was provided at the FY2002 rate
($2.717 billion for the year), under a series of funding extensions. Ultimately, as
alluded to earlier, funding for a longer, five-year period (FY2006-FY2010) was
included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, a budget spending reconciliation bill


2 For more detailed information on the CCDF financing structure and early spending trends
(through FY2000), see CRS Report RL31274, Child Care: Funding and Spending under
Federal Block Grants, by Melinda Gish.

(S. 1932), which was signed into law (P.L. 109-171) on February 8, 2006. This law
provides $2.917 billion annually for each of FY2006-2010.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
TANF, created in the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193), provides fixed
block grants for state-designed programs of time-limited and work-conditioned aid
to needy families with children. The original legislation provided $16.5 billion
annually through FY2002, and after a series of twelve temporary extensions,
Congress included several welfare provisions (and mandatory child care funding) in
its spending budget reconciliation bill (S. 1932), which was signed into law (P.L.
109-171) on February 8, 2006. The law maintains the TANF block grant at $16.5
billion for FY2006-2010. Child care is one of many services for which states may use
TANF funding. In FY2006 (the most recent year for which data are available), HHS
reports that states spent $1.24 billion in federal TANF funds for child care within the
TANF program, and $2.23 billion in state TANF and separate state program (SSP)
MOE funds. 3 In addition, states may transfer up to 30% of their TANF allotments
to CCDF, to be spent according to the rules of the child care program (as opposed to
TANF rules). The transfer from the FY2006 TANF allotment to the CCDBG totaled
$1.9 billion (representing 12% of the FY2006 TANF allotment).
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
The CACFP provides federal funds (in some cases commodities) for meals and
snacks served in licensed child care centers, family and group day care homes, and
Head Start centers. Child care providers that are exempt from state licensing
requirements must comply with alternative state or federal standards. Children under
12, migrant children under 15, and children with disabilities of any age may
participate, although most are preschoolers. Eligible providers are usually public and
private nonprofit organizations. The CACFP is an open-ended entitlement,
administered by the Department of Agriculture. For FY2008, obligations are4
estimated to be $2.289 billion, and $2.172 in FY2007.
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
Title XX of the Social Security Act authorizes Social Services Block Grants,
which may be used for social services at the states’ discretion. There are no federal
income eligibility requirements, targeting provisions, service mandates, or matching
requirements. The most recently published HHS analysis of state expenditures
indicates over 9% of total SSBG expenditures made in FY2005 ($241 million) were
for child care in that year, a decrease from those made for child care in FY2004 ($254
million). Title XX is a capped entitlement, and state allocations are based on relative


3 For more information on states’ use of TANF funds, see CRS Report RL32748, The
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer on Financing and
Requirements for State Programs, by Gene Falk.
4 See CRS Report RL33307, Child Nutrition and WIC Programs: Background and Recent
Funding, by Joe Richardson.

population size. It should be noted that although the SSBG has an entitlement
ceiling, appropriations may not always abide by it. For example, the ceiling in
FY2001 was $1.7 billion; however, Congress appropriated $1.725 billion for that
year, despite the ceiling. Funding for the SSBG has been held steady at $1.7 billion
for the past seven years (most recently, for FY2008), with states retaining authority
to transfer up to 10% of their TANF block grants to the SSBG. However, as part of
the FY2006 appropriations, in addition to the regular SSBG funding, an additional
$550 million was provided in the Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-148),
targeted for needs arising from the Gulf Coast Hurricanes of 2005. P.L. 110-28,
signed into law on May 25, 2007, extends the availability of these funds for
expenditure through FY2008, as a good portion remained unspent prior to the end of
FY2007, and without legislative action, would have been returned to the Treasury.5
Head Start
Head Start provides comprehensive early childhood education and development
services to low-income preschool children, on a part- or full-day basis.6 After
unsuccessful attempts in the 109th Congress to reauthorize the Head Start program
(whose authorization had expired with FY2003), legislation reauthorizing the
program through FY2012 was passed by the current Congress in November 2007,
and that bill, H.R. 1429/H.Rept. 110-439, was signed into law (P.L. 110-134) by the
President on December 12, 2007.7
Despite the long period of overdue reauthorization, funding continued to be
provided through the appropriations process. Under current law, Head Start funds
are provided directly by HHS to local grantees, which must comply with detailed
federal performance standards. The available data show funded enrollment for Head
Start in FY2006 to have totaled 909,201 children (10% of whom were under age 3,
participating in Early Head Start). After three continuing resolutions (CR) had
extended temporary funding for Head Start at its FY2006 annual rate, a fourth CR
(H.J.Res. 20), signed into law (P.L. 110-5) on February 15, 2007, ultimately provided
funding for the entirety of FY2007. This appropriations measure included $6.888
billion for Head Start, an increase of approximately $100 million above the FY2006
level provided in “regular”8 Head Start funds in the FY2006 HHS appropriations law.


5 See CRS Report 94-953, Social Services Block Grant (Title XX of the Social Security Act),
by Melinda Gish.
6 For more information, see CRS Report RL30952, Head Start: Background and Issues, by
Melinda Gish.
7 For more information on the history of House and Senate provisions leading up to the
conference-approved version, see CRS Report RL33968, Head Start Reauthorization: A
Side-by-Side Comparison of House- and Senate-Passed Versions of H.R. 1429 and Current
Law, by Melinda Gish.
8 The Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-148) included $90 million in additional funding
for Head Start, to be used specifically for grantees serving children displaced by the Gulf
Coast hurricanes of 2005, and to help with the costs of renovating Head Start facilities
affected by the storms. Those funds were not be allocated according to the standard Head
Start formula due to the targeted purpose of the funding. As discussed below, the Head Start
(continued...)

The Consolidated Appropriations Act 2008 (P.L. 110-161) includes $6.878 billion
for the Head Start program, which reflects a decrease of $10 million compared to the
FY2007 funding level.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(ESEA) Title I, Part A
ESEA Title I, Part A, is the largest federal program serving disadvantaged
children, particularly school-age children. After Head Start, it is the largest program
providing early education and care to young children. The U.S. Department of
Education estimates that approximately 2% of children served by Title I each year are
preschoolers. Preschool services are not separately funded under Title I, Part A —
such spending occurs if local educational agencies (LEAs) choose to use some of
their Title I funds for this purpose. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008
(P.L. 110-161) provides $14.03 billion for Title I, Part A, an increase of almost $1.2
billion above the FY2007 level of $12.84 billion in funding.
Early Reading First
The Early Reading First program, authorized by ESEA Title I, Part B, Subpart

2, supports local efforts to enhance the school readiness of young children —


particularly those from low-income families — through scientific research-based
strategies and professional development that are designed to enhance the verbal
skills, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and pre-reading skills of preschool9
age children. The program provides competitive grants to eligible local educational
agencies (LEAs) and to public or private organizations or agencies that are located
in eligible LEAs. The Department of Education may award grants for up to six years.
Early Reading First is funded at a level of $113 million for FY2008, $5 million less
than the $118 million provided for FY2007.
The William F. Goodling Even Start
Family Literacy Programs (Even Start)
The Even Start program is authorized by ESEA Title I, Part B, Subpart 3, and
is intended to integrate early childhood education, adult basic education, and
parenting skills education into a unified family literacy program.10 The program
provides grants to states which then distribute them to eligible entities (consisting of
a local education agency (LEA) in collaboration with a community based


8 (...continued)
Bureau has taken action to assess and address the needs of Head Start grantees in response
to these hurricanes. Of the $90 million appropriated, a total of $74 million was awarded,
based on grantee requests. The remainder was returned to the Treasury.
9 For more information, see CRS Report RL31241, Reading First and Early Reading First:
Background and Funding, by Gail McCallion.
10 For more information, see CRS Report RL30448, Even Start Family Literacy Programs:
An Overview, and CRS Report RL33071, Even Start: Funding Controversy, by Gail
McCallion.

organization). Even Start services generally serve children aged 0-7 and their
parents. Even Start services must include adult literacy instruction, early childhood
education, instruction to help parents support their child’s education, participant
recruitment, screening of parents, staff training, and home-based instruction.
The Even Start program, first authorized in 1989, grew rapidly in its first years,
but it has been subject to increasing criticism in recent years and has seen its funding
decline in each year from FY2003 through FY2008. The Education Department’s
FY2007 CR operating plan provided $82 million in funding for the program, a cut
of $17million from the FY2006 funding level of $99 million. As in the FY2007
budget request, the Administration requested no funding for the program for FY2008.
However, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-161) provides $66
million for Even Start.
In advocating for the program’s elimination, the Administration contends that
the program has not demonstrated it has been effective in improving child and adult
learning outcomes through the integration of the four core services of adult
education, parenting education, parent-child activities, and early childhood education.
The Administration argues that these conclusions are supported by data from three
national evaluations of Even Start.
Advocates of continuing the Even Start program argue that the goal of providing
integrated family literacy services to an extremely disadvantaged population is so
important that the program should not be eliminated. Furthermore, they argue that
a thorough study of the impact of legislatively mandated quality improvements to
Even Start is needed, as well as a concerted effort to improve the program through
implementation of model programs and technical assistance.
Early Childhood Educator Professional Development
The Department of Education has provided competitive grants to partnerships
to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators who work in
communities that have high concentrations of children living in poverty. FY2006
funding was $14.5 million, and in FY2007 the department reported an increase of
$10,000, for a rounded total of $14.6 million in FY2007. The program received no
funding for FY2008.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Programs
The majority of IDEA funding for special education and related services
(approximately 90%) goes to school-age children via grants to states. However,
IDEA also authorizes two state grant programs for young children: an early
intervention program for Infants and Toddlers with disabilities (IDEA, Part C) and11
a Preschool program for children with disabilities (IDEA, Part 619). The Infants
and Toddlers program serves disabled children from birth to two years of age, and
the Preschool program generally serves children ages 3 to 5.


11 For more information, see CRS Report RL31273, Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA): Early Childhood Programs (Section 619 and Part C), by Richard N. Apling.

The Infants and Toddlers program requires that states receiving grants create and
maintain a “statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency
system that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with
disabilities and their families.” Services focus on children experiencing
“developmental delay” with respect to physical, mental, or other capacities, and their
families. Services are detailed for each child and his or her family in an
Individualized Family Service Plan. Services are to be provided, to the maximum
extent feasible, in “natural environments,” including the home, with other infants and
toddlers who are not disabled.
States are eligible for Preschool grants under Section 619 of IDEA if they are
eligible for grants under IDEA, Part B, grants to states, and they make available free
appropriate public education to all disabled children 3 to 5 in the state. In recent
years, all states qualified and received preschool grants under this section. Since Part
B grants to states are used to serve children with disabilities as young as three years
of age (as well as school-age children), Section 619 is not so much a separate
program as it is supplementary funding for services to this age group. In general, the
provisions, requirements, and guarantees under the grants to states program that
apply to school-age children with disabilities also apply to children in this age group.
As a result, Section 619 is a relatively brief section of the law, which deals mostly
with the state and substate funding formulas for the grants and state-level activities.
IDEA was reauthorized during the 108th Congress. IDEA, Part C, received $436
million in funding for FY2008, the same level provided in FY2007 and FY2006.
IDEA, Section 619, is funded at a level of $374 million for FY2008, a decrease from
the FY2007 level of $381 million.
Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CAMPIS)
Authorized under the Higher Education Act amendments of 1998, and first
funded for FY1999 at $5 million, the CAMPIS program is designed to support the
participation of low-income parents in post-secondary education through campus-
based child care services. Discretionary grants of up to four years in duration are
awarded competitively to institutions of higher education, to either supplement
existing child care services, or to start a new program. Funding for FY2007 was
$15.8 million, the same level as in FY2006.
Early Learning Fund/Early Learning Opportunities
Act Program
This HHS program (referred to by both names), authorized by the FY2001
Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 106-554) was last funded in FY2005 at $36
million. The FY2006 Appropriations Act includes no funding for this program.
When funded, the program provided grants to communities to enhance school
readiness for children under five, specifically by funding efforts to improve the
cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development of these children. Although
authorized at $600 million, FY2002 funding for the program was set at $25 million;
FY2003 funding was set at $34 million (despite the President’s FY2003 budget



proposal to eliminate the program) and for FY2004, P.L. 108-199 included $34
million for the Early Learning Fund.
Dependent Care Tax Credit (DCTC)
The DCTC is a non-refundable tax credit for employment-related expenses
incurred for the care of a dependent child under 13 or a disabled dependent or spouse,
under Section 21 of the tax code.12 Beginning in tax year 2003, the Economic
Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-16) increased the
maximum credit rate to 35% of expenses up to $3,000 for one child (for a credit of
$1,050), and up to $6,000 for two or more children (for a credit of $2,100). The 35%
rate applies to taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $15,000 or less. The rate
decreases by 1% for each additional $2,000 increment (or portion thereof) in income
until the rate reaches 20% for taxpayers with incomes over $43,000. The Department
of the Treasury estimates tax expenditures for the DCTC will be $3.1 billion for tax
year 2006.
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP)
Under Section 129 of the tax code, payments made by a taxpayer’s employer for
dependent care assistance may be excluded from the employee’s income and,13
therefore, not be subject to federal income tax or employment taxes. The maximum
exclusion is $5,000. Section 125 of the tax code allows employers to include
dependent care assistance, along with other fringe benefits, in nontaxable flexible
benefit or “cafeteria” plans. The Department of the Treasury estimates that tax
expenditures associated with the DCAP will be $660 million in tax year 2006.


12 See CRS Report RS21466, Dependent Care: Current Tax Benefits and Legislative Issues,
by Christine Scott.
13 Ibid.

Table 1. Funding for Federal Early Childhood Care, Education,
and Related Programs, FY2003-FY2008
($ in millions)
Program FY2003FY2004FY2005FY2006FY2007FY2008
(Federal Admin. Agency)
CCDBG -discretionary portionilmnu
(HHS) 2 ,0 8 6 2,087 2,083 2,062 2,062 2,062
CCDBG -entitlement portionjjjo
(HHS)2,717 2,7172,7172,9172,9172,917
TANFa (HHS)aaaaaa
Child and Adult Care Foodbbbbbv
(USDA) 1,915 2,056 2,134 2,141 2,172 2,289
Social Services Block Grantcccc,q
(HHS) 1 ,7 0 0 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700 1,700
Head Start (HHS)6,668d6,775k,l6,843k,m6,786n,p6,888s6,878u,w
Even Start (ED)248i247l225m99n82t66u
IDEA Infants and Families (ED)434i444l441m436n436t436u
IDEA Preschool Grants (ED)387i388l385m381n381t374u
Early Learning Fund / ELOAilm
(HHS) 3 4 34 36 000
Early Reading First (ED)75i94l104m103n118t113u
Early Childhood Educatorilmnt
Professional Development (ED)15151514.514.60
Child Care Access Means Parentsilmntu
in School (ED)16161615.815.816
Tax Provisions
Dependent Care Tax Creditgggrrx
(T reasur y) 2,707 3,207 3,338 3,060 3,190
Dependent Care Assistancehhhrrx
Program (Treasury)600660
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Note: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I, Part A (ED) is not included here because it primarily
serves school-age disadvantaged children, and because reliable data on expenditures for preschoolers are not available.
However, the U.S. Department of Education has estimated that approximately 2% of children served by Title I each year are
preschoolers. These preschool services are not separately funded under Title I, Part A, but rather are spent for this purpose
at the discretion of local educational agencies (LEAs). Preschool spending data are not collected. Total ESEA Title I, Part
A funding is $14.03 billion in FY2008; was $12.84 billion in FY2007; $12.74 billion in FY2006; $12.74 billion in FY2005;
$12.34 billion in FY2004; and $11.69 billion in FY2003.
a. TANF funds ($16.5 billion annually) may be used for child care, but are not specifically appropriated as such. HHS
reports that states spent $1.3 billion in federal TANF funds for child care within the TANF program in FY2005 (the
most recent data available). Also, the FY2005 transfer from the FY2005 TANF allotment to the CCDBG totaled $2.0
billion (representing 12% of the FY2005 TANF allotment).
b. Obligations (actual for 2002-2006; estimated for 2007), Department of Agriculture.
c. Total SSBG appropriation amount shown. In FY2004 (the most recent expenditure data available), $254 million in SSBG
expenditures was for child care. In FY2003, the comparable figure was $165 million, and in FY2002, it was $205
million.
d. Of the $6.668 billion, $5.268 billion was available for FY2003, and $1.4 billion was available in FY2004. The $5.268
billion was exempt from rescissions (or “offsets) included in P.L. 108-7. However, the advance appropriation of $1.4
billion for FY2004, included in P.L. 108-7, was subject to the 0.59% rescission included in the FY2004 appropriations
law (P.L. 108-199).
f. This amount excludes $3 million in unobligated funds transferred to the Program Administration account to help offset
a $3.7 million rescission in administrative and related expenses pursuant to section 803 of the FY2002 Supplemental
Appropriations Act.



g. Prior tax year actual expenditures reported in (Internal Revenue Service) IRS publication 1304 Table 3.3 — in other
words, $3.338 billion in tax expenditures in tax year 2004.
h. Actual tax expenditures associated with DCAP are not reported/collected on/from tax returns.
i. Amount reflects rescission included in P.L. 108-7.
j. Funding for TANF and the mandatory portion of CCDBG funding for FY2003, FY2004, and FY2005 was provided (at
the FY2002 rates) through a series of temporary extensions.
k. In FY2004, $1.4 billion was advance appropriated for the following year. In FY2005, $1.389 billion of the $6.843 billion
was advance appropriated for FY2006.
l. These discretionary programs were subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.59% included in P.L. 108-199. For the
larger programs, the listed amount reflects the rescission, whereas for the smaller programs, the use of rounding in the
table masks the decrease in the actual appropriation.
m. The omnibus appropriations law (P.L. 108-447) included an across-the-board rescission of 0.8% for these discretionary
programs. The numbers in the table reflect the offset. (For the smaller programs, the use of rounding in the table masks
the decrease in the actual appropriation.)
n. This amount reflects the 1% across-the-board rescission that applies to discretionary programs included in this
appropriations act (P.L. 109-149).
o. P.L. 109-171 provides $2.917 billion for mandatory child care funding in each of fiscal years 2006-2010.
p. Of the $6.786 billion (post-rescission), $1.386 billion became available in FY2007. In addition to the amount shown in
the table, the Defense Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-148) provided $90 million in additional funding for Head Start,
to be used specifically for grantees serving children displaced by last year’s Gulf Coast hurricanes, and to help with
costs of renovating Head Start facilities affected by the storms.
q. In addition to the $1.7 billion appropriated in the Labor, HHS, Education law (P.L. 109-148), the Defense Appropriations
Act (P.L. 109-149) provided $550 million in SSBG funds, specifically targeted for needs arising from the Gulf Coast
Hurricanes of 2005.
r. Department of Treasury estimates of tax expenditures. Amounts reflect estimates for the prior tax year, that is, $600
million in tax year 2005 and $660 million in tax year 2006, taken from FY2008 President’s Budget.
s. The FY2009 budget documents are the source for the $6.888 billion figure.
t. Figures taken from the Department of Education table showingFY2007 CR Operating levels.” The fourth and final
continuing resolution (CR) making appropriations for FY2007 was enacted February 15, 2007 (P.L. 110-5).
u. This amount reflects the 1.747% across-the-board rescission that applies under P.L. 110-161.
v. Figures taken from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2008 Explanatory Notes to P.L. 110-161, submitted to the
appropriations committees.
w. Of the $6.878 billion, $1.389 billion becomes available in FY2009.
x. Estimates will be added to table upon release of the FY2009 President’s Budget.



FY2007 Appropriations
The FY2007 appropriations process consisted of four continuing resolutions, the
last of which (H.J.Res. 20), signed into law (P.L. 110-5) on February 15, 2007,
extended through the entirety of FY2007. The final CR language specified a dollar
amount for Head Start — $6.889 billion — approximately $100 million more than
the regular funding provided for FY2006. (Regular funds totaled $6.786 billion in
FY2006 and do not include the supplemental funding that was provided to target
needs arising from the 2005 Gulf hurricanes.)
FY2008 Appropriations
Fiscal Year 2008 began without appropriations bills for the year having been
completed. The process extended almost a full quarter into FY2008, with continuing
resolutions providing temporary funding during the time it took for the House,
Senate, and President to come to agreement on a bill. Ultimately, the President
signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (H.R. 2764/P.L. 110-161) on
December 26, 2007, but only after first vetoing a conference agreement submitted
by Congress (H.Rept. 110-424). The funding levels that appear in the act (with few
exceptions) are subject to an across-the-board reduction of 1.747%. All FY2008
appropriation amounts referenced in this report reflect the across-the-board cut.
Chronology of House and Senate FY2008 Appropriations
Activity
On June 27, 2007, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported a bill (S.

1720/S.Rept. 110-107) to make appropriations for the Departments of Labor, HHS,


and Education. The full Senate did not take up that legislation but later approved the
H.R. 3043 conference agreement (subsequently vetoed by the President). H.R. 3043
was initiated in the House (see below).
The House Appropriations Committee approved its Labor-HHS-Education bill
(H.R. 3043/H.Rept. 110-231) on July 11, 2007, by voice vote, and the full House
passed H.R. 3043, as amended, on July 19, 2007, by a vote of 276-140. On July 17,
2007, the same day the House floor debate of H.R. 3043 began, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Statement of Administration Policy stating
its opposition to the bill and threatened a presidential veto if ultimately presented to
the President.
On November 8, 2007, H.R. 3043 (H. Rept 110-424), the bill containing
appropriations for Labor, HHS, and Education was sent to the President. On
November 13, President Bush vetoed the bill, and on November 15, an attempt to
override the veto failed in the House by a vote of 277-141 (two-thirds majority
required).
In December, the House and Senate turned to H.R. 2764 (originally introduced
as the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Act for FY2008) as a vehicle for the
omnibus appropriations measure. An amended version of H.R. 2764 became the



Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 and was agreed to and signed into law by
the President on December 26, 2007. The explanatory statement accompanying the
bill (and substituting for a conference report) provides for the aforementioned across-
the-board cut of 1.747% to most programs and services funded by the bill.
Table 3 shows the funding levels approved, in chronological order, by the
Senate Appropriations Committee for S. 1720, by the House for its version, H.R.
3043, by the House and Senate as part of the conference agreement accompanying
H.R. 3043 (which was subsequently vetoed by the President), and ultimately, the
funding levels approved by the President and signed into law (P.L. 110-161). All
final funding levels reflect the across-the-board reduction of 1.747%.
Table 3. FY2008 Appropriations: Funding Levels in the
President’s FY2008 Request, Senate Committee Bill, House Bill,
Vetoed Conference Agreement, and Final Bill
($ in millions)
SenateHouse-ConferenceFinal (P.L.
President’s Appro pria t io ns P a sse d Agreement 110-161;
ProgramRequestCommittee-Bill (H.Rept. includes
FY2008Passed Bill (H.R.110-424)1.747%
(S. 1710)3043)vetoedcut)
CCD B G
d iscr e tio na r y
(HHS)2,062 2,062 2,1372,0952,062
SSBG (HHS)1,200 1,7001,7001,7001,700
Head Start
(HHS)6,789 7, 0896,9647,0426,878
Even Start
(ED) 0 0 99 63 66
IDEA Infants
and Families
(ED) 423 450 436 443 436
IDEA
P r eschool
(ED) 381 381 381 381 374
Early
Child ho o d
Educator
Professional
Development
(ED) 0 1 5 0 0 0
Early Reading
First (ED)118118115115113
Child Care
Access Means
Parents in
School
(CAMP IS)
(ED) 16 16 18 17 16
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS).



FY2009 President’s Budget
The Administration released its proposed budget for FY2009 on February 4,
2009. As shown in Table 4, the President’s funding request for most of the early
childhood care and education programs discussed in this report mirror the funding
levels provided for FY2008. Exceptions include a proposed $149 million increase
for the Head Start program, and a $500 million decrease for the Social Services
Block Grant (SSBG). In addition to the proposed cut for the coming year, the budget
also proposes a plan to eliminate the SSBG entirely in FY2010. For FY2009, the
Administration again proposes to eliminate the Even Start program, as well as
funding for Early Childhood Educator Professional Development.
Table 4. President’s FY2009 Funding Request
Compared to FY2008 Appropriation
($ in millions)
ProgramFY2008AppropriationPresident’sRequest FY2009
CCDBG discretionary (HHS)2,0622,062
SSBG (HHS)1,7001,200
Head Start (HHS)6,8787,027
Even Start (ED)660
IDEA Infants and Families (ED)436436
IDEA Preschool (ED)374374
Early Childhood Educator Professional00
Development (ED)
Early Reading First (ED)113113
Child Care Access Means Parents in1616
School (CAMPIS) (ED)
Sources: Table based on budget figures provided in FY2009 Budget Justifications for the
Departments of Health and Human Services and Education.