The following broadcast was released by the Alaska Department of Health Child Care Program Office on November 16, 2023.
The Child Care Program Office (CCPO) is committed to continual improvement of the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to increase the availability, affordability, and quality of childcare services. The CCPO evaluates the current state child care rates by conducting a Market Price Survey (MPS) to collect data on prices and the number of filled child care slots at licensed child care facilities. This information is used to set state child care rates and to ensure families participating in the CCAP have access to licensed child care as required by the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Plan. The CCDF Plan is the federal grant that provides funding for the following programs:
Child Care Licensing, Child Care Assistance; Child Care Grant; Alaska Inclusive Child Care; and Child Care Resource and Referral.
For the second year the CCPO is working in partnership with The University of Alaska, Anchorage (UAA) Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) to conduct the MPS. The MPS link was emailed to child care providers on October 3, 2023. To allow child care providers additional time, the MPS deadline has been extended through the C.O.B. of November 21, 2023.
We highly encourage child care provider participation in the MPS. If you have started the survey, but have not completed it, please allow this to serve as a reminder that your survey is incomplete. You will need the following information to complete the survey: Your facility’s contact information; capacity; attendance/enrollment, fees, rates, and waitlist records for the month of September 2023. If you gather the information before you click on the survey link, the survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes.
Please call Ashley Schroeder with the University of Alaska, Institute of Social and Economic Research (907) 786-6727 or email to akschroeder2@alaska.edu for any questions about the survey, or for any survey technical assistance.
If you have questions about this notification, you can call the CCPO using the toll free number 1-888-268-4632 or (907) 269-4500 and request to speak to an Eligibility and Benefits team member.
Thank you,
Child Care Program Office
Phone (907) 269-4500
Fax (907) 269-4536