Child Care and Development Fund

Supporting Families and Providers Across Montana

2025-2027 CCDF State Plan. Effective - June 1, 2025, through September 30, 2027

View the 2025-2027 CCDF State Plan

What is the Child Care and Development Fund?

The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is the primary Federal funding source devoted to providing low-income families that are working or participating in education and training with help paying for child care and improving the quality of care for all children. It provides child care financial assistance for 1.4 million children each month throughout the United States, U.S. Territories and Tribal Nations. A majority of these children are under the age of five, allowing CCDF to support early childhood education and care for hundreds of thousands of young children. Additionally, CCDF investments in improving the quality of care benefit millions more of the nation’s children who do not receive a child care subsidy but participate in child care programs that benefit from these quality investments, such as teacher training.¹
¹   Office of Child Care, Child Care and Development Fund Reauthorization

CCDF in Montana

The Child Care Bureau and Early Childhood Services Bureau administer the CCDF. Through the CCDF, families and providers are supported in many ways:

• • • Equal access for families through the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship Program
    • Reliable complaint process for families and providers
    • Child Care Agencies support program eligibility and access to child care across the state
    • STARS to Quality, Montana’s Quality Rating and Improvement System
    • Enforcement of health and safety standards at all licensed providers
    • Transparent licensing inspection and monitoring information

Child Care Development Fund Consumer Education Statement

CCDF State Plan

The CCDF State Plan is the primary mechanism that the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) uses to determine state and territory compliance with the requirements of the law and rule. States and territories use the plan to describe to ACF their progress on the following sections:

1. CCDF Program Administration - Leadership, Policy, & Consultation 
2. Child and Family Eligibility and Enrollment and Continuity of Care - Reducing Barriers, Connecting w/ Vulnerable Groups
3. Child Care Affordability
4. Parental Choice, Equal Access, Payment Rates, and Payment Practices
5. Health and Safety of Child Care Settings
6. Support for a Skilled, Qualified, and Compensated Child Care Workforce
7. Quality Improvement Activities
8. Lead Agency Coordination and Partnerships to Support Service Delivery
9. Family Outreach and Consumer Education
10. Program Integrity and Accountability

These sections reflect key functions of an integrated system of child care for low-income working families. Although the state plan is divided into sections for reporting and accountability purposes, ACF encourages states to approach the Plan in a cross-cutting, integrated manner. The intention is that grantees and the federal government will be able to use this information to track and assess progress, determine the need for technical assistance (TA), and determine compliance with specific requirements and deadlines.

Please contact us if you require a copy of a previous year's State Plan.

Child Care and Development Fund Reauthorization

Background

On November 19, 2014, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 was signed into law.  This reauthorizes the child care program for the first time since 1996 and represents an historic re-envisioning of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program. The new law makes significant advancements by defining health and safety requirements for child care providers, outlining family-friendly eligibility policies, and ensuring parents and the general public have transparent information about the child care choices available to them   US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care