Child Care Development Fund

The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) is a federal and state partnership program authorized under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and administered by states, territories and tribes with funding and support from the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Care. States use CCDF to provide financial assistance to low-income families to access child care so they can work or attend a job training or educational program. In addition, states use the CCDF to invest in quality to benefit more children by building the skills and qualifications of the teacher workforce, supporting child care programs to achieve higher standards, and providing consumer education to help parents select child care that meets their families’ needs.

CCDF State Plan

The CCDF State Plan describes the activities to be administered by the State of Missouri for the duration of the plan. This plan is the primary mechanism the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families (ACF), Office of Child Care uses to determine Missouri's compliance with the law under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).

Past State Plans are available below:

Quarterly Financial Reports (696)
Federal Regulations
Market Rate Survey

New! The Office of Childhood contracted with the University of Missouri-Columbia to conduct a research study on national status and trends in setting child care subsidy rates, as well as a series of focus groups and surveys with child care providers in Missouri. This research study provides details of the activities conducted as well as a summary of the findings.

The CCDF requires states to conduct a statistically valid and reliable Market Rate Survey (MRS) reflecting variations in the price paid for child care services by geographic area, provider type and age of the child. This report must be completed no earlier than two (2) years before the submission of the three-year State Plan.

Information about current child care rates is used to determine subsidy payment rates which helps to ensure equal access to child care. This would equate to access to child care which is comparable to child care received by and paid for by families who are ineligible for subsidies. The sole purpose of this study is to examine current market rates for child care in Missouri. The subsidy payment rate setting process is not a part of this study and is completed separately.

2021-2022 Child Care Market Rate Survey

Past Market Rate Surveys are available below: