Open Opportunities for Child Care Businesses: What It Takes to Support Broad Participation in Public Investments in Access and Quality
When it comes to child care businesses accessing public funding, clear information, equitable access, and follow-through can matter almost as much as the funding itself
By Taijha Harden
Every new public investment in child care is critically needed and worth celebrating. In the last decade, the number of states and municipalities implementing innovative financing sources and funding mechanisms to bolster child care supply and quality has accelerated dramatically. Alongside this, there is growing understanding that rolling out complex funding programs that only some child care businesses are successful in administering, typically those large or resourced enough to have dedicated back-office staff, has meaningful downsides. Smaller, community-based centers and family child care homes that struggle to access this funding may close or have limited opportunities to improve wages and quality of care. These impacts may be experienced differently across communities, shifting access gaps and creating new inequities.
FCF partners with states and municipalities that recognize that achieving equitable participation in public funding across program types, geography, and entrepreneur demographics is not achieved through a one-size-fits-all approach. Some businesses will require strategic outreach and more intensive support to learn about, apply for, and successfully implement public funding programs. We also see how these efforts pay off. Small businesses, especially family child care providers, are a critical piece of the sector, especially in meeting the needs of working families in rural communities, providing alternative-hour care, and offering linguistically and culturally responsive programs. In FCF’s annual child care business survey, programs participating in public funding consistently report more financially sustainable businesses, higher enrollment, improved pay and benefits, and other strengths. This means more reliable, high-quality care in the communities that need it most.
Oregon’s Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) is committed to building the capacity of community-based child care businesses to participate in a broad array of public funding programs. Oregon offers more than 16 distinct state and regional public funding programs for child care businesses. As part of a multipronged effort, FCF has partnered with DELC to create and maintain updated guides on accessing and implementing public funding. The guides help demystify public funding and make the process concrete and accessible, while providing a practical preview of regulatory requirements. They are written in plain language and translated into Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and Chinese.
One guide addresses the information gaps that keep businesses from exploring public funding. It explains programs such as Employment Related Day Care (subsidy), Preschool Promise, and Baby Promise in clear language and what businesses need to qualify to participate. The other guide is intended for programs participating in public funding for the first time. It shares practical steps to staying in compliance with program requirements, such as keeping financial records organized, staying up to date on program changes, and knowing where to get technical assistance.
We encourage you to review the guides and consider whether similar information is easily accessible in your state. Helping businesses access funding opportunities is part of whether your programs fully achieve their intended benefits. A funding program can be well-designed and still go unused if the path to funding is only clear to people who already know how the system works. Closing that information gap requires the same care that agencies use in program design, including multiple pathways to learn about funding opportunities, differentiated support, and regular attention to which businesses are still left out.
Oregon’s approach offers a model other states can use. When providers spend less time trying to understand the system, they have more time and capacity to run strong programs and serve families well.
This is the work FCF does nationwide. FCF partners with state agencies, funders, and coalitions to translate complex public funding streams into clear systems all providers can access. This includes plain-language guides, technical assistance, and business coaching. States that want more providers to participate in existing programs do not need to start from scratch. FCF’s experience in Oregon and other states gives agencies a practical model for closing the gap between funding that is available and funding that reaches the businesses, families, and communities it was designed to support.
