Today, President Biden passed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package with $39 billion in child care relief funding. The $39 billion in dedicated child care funding provides $15 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and $24 billion for a child care stabilization fund.
Other critical supports for families and children provided by the relief bill include:
- $1 billion for Head Start
- $130 billion for K-12 schools
- $1,400 stimulus payments for individuals
- A permanent increase in annual funding for the Child Care Entitlement to States for a total of $3.550 billion per year
- An expansion of the Child Tax Credit to $3,600 for each child under 6 years old and $3,000 for each child between 6 and 17 years old
- An expansion of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit up to a maximum credit of $4,000 for one child or dependent and $8,000 for two or more children or dependents
- An extension of the 15% increase to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits through September
- $880 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
- An extension of the voluntary emergency paid sick and paid leave tax credits from March 31 to September 30, 2021, and an increase to the total amount of wages an employer can claim the credit from $10,000 to $12,000 per employee
thread would like to thank Alaska’s families, early childhood educators and supporters for your advocacy efforts in making this monumental decision a reality for child care.
To learn more about the American Rescue Plan, read this statement from Child Care Aware of America.