Table 2
State variation in key child care assistance policies
| Description of policy | Number of states affected |
|---|---|
| Income limit failed to keep pace with the increase in the federal poverty level between 2001 and 2015 | 27 |
| Family of three with income above 100/150/200 percent of poverty could NOT quality for assistance in 2015 | 0/17/39 |
| Waiting lists or frozen intake in 2015 | 21 (same in 2001) |
| Families at 100 percent of poverty (family of three) paid a higher percentage of income in copayment in 2015 than in 2001 | 28 |
| Reimbursement rate set at federally recommended 75th percentile of market rates in 2015 | 1 (down from 22 in 2001) |
| Reimbursement rate at highest quality level was set above 75th percentile of market rate | 8 (of 37 states with tiered center care of 4-year-olds) |
| Allowed families receiving child care assistance to continue receiving it for at least some amount of time while a parent searched for a job in 2015 | 45 |
| Allowed families to qualify for and begin receiving child care assistance while a parent searched for a job in 2015 | 13 |
| Offered tiered income eligibility in 2014 | 17 (range of 8% to 70% allowable increase; 25% is median) |
Source: Forry et al. (2014); Schulman and Blank (2015); Minton et al. (2015)
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