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United States

Early Childhood Profile

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Health and NutritionEarly Care and EducationParenting and Economic Supports

State Choices to Promote Access

  • 17 states set the income eligibility limit for child care subsidies at or above 200% FPL. [2009]1
  • 8 states child care subsidy reimbursement rate meets the recommended 75th percentile of the market rate [2009]1
  • 22 states redetermine the eligibility for child care subsidies no more than once per year [2008]2
  • 17 states supplement Early Head Start with state or other federal funds. [2008]3
  • 43 states fund a pre-kindergarten program and/or supplement Head Start. [2008]4
50-State Data   Policy Definitions

State Choices to Promote Quality

  • 15 states require one adult for every 10 4-year-olds, and a maximum class size of 20 in child care centers. [2007]5
  • 8 states require one adult for every four 18-month-olds, and a maximum class size of eight in child care centers. [2007]5
  • 22 states allocate state or federal funds for a network of infant/toddler specialists that provide assistance to child care providers. [2009]6
  • 30 states have early learning standards or developmental guidelines for infants and toddlers. [2009]7
  • 22 states have an infant/toddler credential. [2009]6
  • 23 states require through regulation that infants and toddlers in child care centers be assigned a consistent primary caregiver. [2008]8
  • 19 states operates a statewide Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) [2009]9
50-State Data   Policy Definitions
Health and NutritionParenting and Economic Supports
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Data Notes and Sources

Last Updated: December 4, 2009

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  1. Schulman, Karen; Blank, Helen. 2009. State Child Care Assistance Policies 2009: Most States Hold the Line, But Some Lose Ground in Hard Times. National Women's Law Center. http://www.nwlc.org (accessed October 23, 2009).
  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Report of State and Territory Plans, FY 2008-2009, 2008. http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov (Accessed February 24, 2009)
  3. Rachel Schumacher and Elizabeth DiLauro, Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and their Families, Center for Law and Social Policy and Zero to Three Policy Center, April 2008.
  4. W. Steven Barnett, Dale J. Epstein, Allison H. Friedman, Judi Stevenson Boyd, Jason T. Hustedt, The State of Preschool 2008, National Institute for Early Education Research, 2008.
  5. National Child Care Information Center, "Child-Staff Ratios and Maximum Group Size Requirements in 2007," October 2008, http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov (accessed February 25, 2009).
  6. ZERO TO THREE, personal e-mail (received March 5, 2009) based on information gathered as of February 9, 2009.
  7. Heying, Karen, Zero to Three. October 30, 2009. Personal Communication.
  8. National Association for Regulatory Administration and the National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center, The 2007 Child Care Licensing Study: Final Report, April 2009, pg 89. Available at http://www.naralicensing.org (accessed April 3, 2009)
  9. Quality Rating Improvement Systems are a method to asses, improve, and communicate information about early childcare providers.
    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center. 2009. QRIS Definition and Statewide Systems. http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov (accessed November 16, 2009)