ICYMI: White House Cites NWLC Data in New Issue Brief on Impact of Child Care Funding Cliff

Washington, DC — The White House today released a new issue brief on the impact of the child care funding cliff that reaffirms and references findings first released by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC).

The NWLC data analysis released last month, and cited in the White House report, found an overall increase in the share of parents who reported not having access to child care following the expiration of the $24 billion in America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Child Care Stabilization funds last September.

This increase was driven by states that didn’t provide state funding to fill the gap left by the expired federal child care funding. However, the share of parents unable to access child care barely rose in states that did fill in the gap left by the expired funds.

NWLC’s analysis also found that in states that filled the gap left by the expired ARPA funding, fewer women with young children who wanted to work reported not being able to go to work due to child care obligations.

The White House issue brief, Impacts of the Expiration of Federal Child Care Stabilization Funding and the Mitigating Effects of State-Level Stopgap Funding, includes a similar but more detailed analysis, reaffirming NWLC’s findings and citing them later in the report.

From the White House issue brief:

“We also show early evidence that states that implemented stopgap funding after federal ARP dollars ran out may have been more resilient in the post-funding period (after October 2023). Survey evidence shows that families with young children are having a harder time finding child care after ARP expiration, but the effects are less pronounced in states that implemented stopgap funding. Moreover, we find suggestive evidence of relatively stronger labor market outcomes for families and parents with young children in these states.”

For a more detailed overview of NWLC’s analysis on the impact of the expired ARPA funding on families’ access to care and women’s ability to participate in the paid workforce, click here.

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