This is our performance audit of the use and distribution of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), managed by the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). This report provides the Legislature information about the decision-making process DPHHS uses to distribute CCDF funding to programs designed to make Montana child care affordable, accessible, and safe. This report includes recommendations to improve this process and strengthen the child care licensing process to better protect children attending a regulated child care. A written response from DPHHS is included at the end of the report.
Tribal Child Care and Development Fund administrators work each day to ensure that the children and families in tribal communities have the child care services that best meet their needs. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), a federal block grant for States, Tribes, and Territories, is a key resource to help increase the availability, affordability, and quality of child care services. With Child Care and Development Funds, tribal CCDF administrators can support low-income families, families receiving temporary public assistance, and those transitioning from public assistance in obtaining child care services so they may work, attend training, or participate in educational activities. Developed from information and resources provided at national and regional tribal CCDF administrator trainings, this Guide brings together the technical and practical aspects of tribal CCDF administration. Examples of effective program strategies are provided to illustrate the various ways that tribal CCDF administrators respond to the needs of children and families served through the child care assistance program. Footnotes in each section point to sources of additional information, including guidance documents disseminated by the Child Care Bureau and specific sections of the Federal regulations that govern the CCDF program. Tribal CCDF administrators should always consult the regulations and current CCDF guidance for the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on the management of a tribal CCDF program. Appendices include: (1) Getting Started as a New Administrator; (2) Federal CCDF Contacts and Resources; (3) Sample Quality Activities; (4) Potential Collaborative Partners for Tribal CCDF Programs; and (5) Tribal CCDF Dates to Remember. (Contains 46 footnotes.).
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent agency that works for Congress. The GAO watches over Congress, and investigates how the federal government spends taxpayers dollars. The Comptroller General of the United States is the leader of the GAO, and is appointed to a 15-year term by the U.S. President. The GAO wants to support Congress, while at the same time doing right by the citizens of the United States. They audit, investigate, perform analyses, issue legal decisions and report anything that the government is doing. This is one of their reports.
The CCDF subsidizes child care for low-income families whose parents work or attend education or training programs. States are responsible for determining program priorities and overseeing funds. Providers bill the state for caring for approved children. In response to program fraud and abuse, this report: (1) proactively tested selected states' fraud prevention controls; (2) examined closed case studies of fraud and abuse; and (3) interviewed parents waitlisted for child care about the effect of this lack of assistance on their families. To do this, investigators posed as parents and unregulated relative providers in 10 scenarios in five states with no waiting lists that each received more than $100 million in CCDF funding for FY 2009. A print on demand report.
