Vice President Harris Announces Steps to Cap, Waive Costs of Child Care for Thousands

Vice President Harris Tuesday announced new steps that would cap child care copayments for families enrolled in a federal program at no more than 7 percent of a family’s income and encourage states to waive copayments for families at the poverty level.

Harris’s announcement aims to strengthen the Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, which supports 1.5 million children and their families monthly, by incentivizing participation in the program. 

The White House predicts that capping copayments at 7 percent of a family’s income would mean nearly 80,000 families would see their child care payments reduced. The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) in 2016 established 7 percent of family income as the federal benchmark of an affordable child care copayment, but only 14 states have set copayment rates for families participating in CCDBG at or below that level.

Read the source article at The Hill