Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
A Proposed Rule by the Health and Human Services Department on 01/05/2026
RE: Docket number ACF–2025-24272 / RIN number 0970-AD20
Secretary Kennedy,
Thank you for accepting public comment on the proposed rules. In Ohio, a majority of working families cannot afford high-quality child care.[1] We strongly oppose the proposed rescissions as they undermine provider stability, affordability, and equitable access. This proposed rule will have consequences for children, parents, and early childhood educators who are already struggling to navigate the economic conditions and policy choices exacerbating the affordability crisis.
Ohio is facing a child care crisis comprising several systemic issues: high-quality child care is simply too expensive for most Ohio families, early childhood educators operate on razor thin margins, and educators are leaving the sector due to low wages.[2]
The improvements made in the March 2024 rule were important for reducing the severity of the child care crisis and should be maintained. This proposed rule rescinding those provisions should not be implemented.
The 2024 rule does not present an undue burden on Lead Agencies. The waivers allowed under that rule were and are sufficient for Lead Agencies to maintain flexibility in implementation, while ensuring the child care crisis does not deepen.
Federal rulemaking is crucial to solving the child care crisis and making sure child care is affordable and accessible so parents can work. According to a poll done in 2024, 61% of Ohio moms of children ages five and younger who are unemployed or working part time would work full time if child care was more affordable.[3] According to that same poll, repeated in 2025, 11% of Ohio parents had trouble finding or keeping a job due to child care issues.[4]
For many parents, the cost of child care can be overwhelming. The average costs of child care in Ohio are:[5]
| Child Care Center | Family Child Care Home-based Provider | |
| Infants 12 months or younger | $13,859 | $10,548 |
| Toddlers ages 13-36 months | $12,452 | $10,033 |
| Preschoolers ages 37 months–5 years | $11,261 | $9,026 |
If a parent, working full time, has one infant and one toddler at an average-cost child care center, then $12.65 of every hour they work would go to child care costs. The minimum wage in Ohio is $11 per hour.[6]
In Ohio, child care is a luxury, unaffordable even for middle-income families. Ohio’s economy, families, and future cannot afford that status quo.
Our child care industry is also barely staying afloat. From 2009 to 2024, the number of child care workers in Ohio dropped by 43.2%, with the biggest decrease of nearly 5,000 workers happening between 2019 and 2020.[7] In fact, between 2019 and 2024, the number of child care workers in Ohio fell by 32.8%. More than half of child care providers in Central Ohio are at a high risk of closure[8] because lack of state investment has resulted in razor thin margins keeping wages low while costs continue to increase.
In Ohio, many providers that offer publicly funded child care face financial instability, and meeting standards for high-quality child care comes with additional costs.[9] High-quality child care matters because it supports children’s brain development, emotional well-being, and school readiness during the most critical years of growth.[10] It also allows parents to work and strengthens the economy, while helping close equity gaps for kids in low-income and marginalized communities.[11]
Ohio voters are overwhelmingly in favor of increased funding to the child care sector. Groundwork Ohio found that 66% of Ohioans and 74% of Ohio parents believe federal funding for child care and early learning programs for low-income working families is a good investment of taxpayer money.[12]
Addressing the child care crisis in Ohio and across the country will require ample public investment in the sector. The child care sector is already unstable, and these proposed rule rescissions are counterproductive to encouraging workforce participation and critical early childhood development. We have included various considerations on the proposed rules by section, which you will find below. Our comments focus solely on the proposals and modifications in the NPRM and are not exhaustive of the broader improvements we know would benefit children, families, and providers.
Sincerely,
Heather Smith
Work and Wages Researcher
Policy Matters Ohio
Repeal the federally mandated cap on family co-payments
- § 98.45(l)(3): This proposed change removes the mandatory 7-percent cap that was imposed in the March 2024 final rule. With this change, CCDF policy would revert to the previous requirement that matches the statutory language that co-payments cannot be a barrier to families receiving child care assistance.
Currently, in Ohio, families become eligible for publicly funded child care (PFCC) if they have a household income at or below 145% of the federal poverty level (FPL), and remain eligible until their household income exceeds 300% FPL.[13] Family copayment is on a sliding scale, with copayments for families making between 105% and 200% FPL ranging from 7% to 9% of their monthly income and increasing substantially once families’ income surpasses 200% FPL: A family of three with a maximum monthly household income of $6,455 (300% FPL) has a co-pay of $1,743 per month — that’s 27% of their monthly income.[14]
Child care is just one of many economic strains facing Ohio’s families. The cost of housing has increased over the last several years, with the median rental price for a two-bedroom apartment in Ohio rising 22% between December 2019 and December 2024.[15] At least 11% of Ohioans live in a household spending at least half its income on housing. According to the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, more than a third of Ohio households with children reported that paying for usual household expenses was somewhat or very difficult in the seven days prior to completing the survey.[16] The same survey found that 1 in 8 Ohio households with children sometimes or often did not have enough to eat. More than 1 in 5 Ohioans had trouble paying off medical bills in 2023.[17]
Ohioans are experiencing affordability crises across multiple necessary household expenses, making affordable child care that much more important. Among Ohio parents, 34% were not able to save money or get ahead financially due to child care costs and 26% struggled to pay for child care costs.[18] A 7% co-pay cap on publicly funded child care services is absolutely critical to maintain affordability for those who need it most.
Repeal the requirement to pay child care providers prospectively
- § 98.45(m)(1): The March 2024 final rule required provider payment in advance of or at the beginning of the delivery of service (i.e., prospectively) with limited exceptions. This proposal rescinds that rule.
This proposed rule would rescind the requirement for Ohio’s Department of Children and Youth (DCY) to pay providers prior to the delivery of services, aligning public payment practices with those of private payers, who typically pay in advance.[19] The March 2024 rule change regarding this provision will lead to a more stable financial environment for child care providers, in turn encouraging more providers to participate in PFCC, leading to an increase in child care options, improved quality of care, and expanded parental choice. Paying providers prospectively aligns with the payment practices of the vast majority of programs that serve families paying out of pocket.
Predictable revenue is crucial for child care providers’ financial stability. Action for Children, a child care resource and referral agency that surveys child care providers in Central Ohio annually, found in their December 2025 report[20] that 58% of child care providers are unsure if they will be open without additional public support in the next 12 months, up from 48% in 2024.[21] Just under half (47%) of child care providers reported that monthly revenue does not cover their expenses. From Action for Children’s 2024 survey,[22] of those family child care professionals who are able to pay themselves a salary, the average monthly salary is only $1,595. (The monthly full-time salary of a minimum wage worker is $1,907.)[23] Not only are many providers struggling to make a living wage, they’re also unable to provide their employees with the benefits that people need to survive. The same 2024 survey found that only 36% of central Ohio child care centers offer health insurance for their staff.
As part of a commitment to bringing additional providers into the publicly funded child care system to increase family choice and ensure that programs are supported by payments that are consistent, timely, and reflect the true costs of quality care, we support the requirement to pay providers prospectively.
In response to the request for comment on “whether a different deadline, such as seven days or 14 days after receiving a completed invoice, would more effectively balance the need to provide Lead Agency flexibility while also supporting provider stability,” we encourage you to maintain the March 2024 rule that Lead Agencies pay providers prospectively. However, among suggested amendments, seven days would do the least harm.
Repeal the requirement to pay child care providers based on a child’s enrollment rather than attendance
- § 98.45(m)(2): The March 2024 final rule required States and Territories, with limited exceptions, to pay providers based on a child’s authorized enrollment. This proposal rescinds that rule.
In Ohio, child care providers who accept public funding are reimbursed by DCY based on attendance. But fixed costs — like payroll, rent, and utilities — don’t decrease when a child is absent. The proposed rule would rescind the March 2024 rule that ensured predictable funding levels by requiring payments to PFCC providers be based on enrollment.
Child care programs often operate on tight margins. Providers must pay for safe staffing levels and cover fixed costs regardless of whether a particular child is absent on a particular day. Payment based on enrollment allows providers to budget responsibly, keep classrooms appropriately staffed, and avoid sudden financial shortfalls. This stability directly benefits families by preventing closures, avoiding tuition hikes, and ensuring children have consistent care.
In response to the request for comment on “whether a different number of paid absences, such as ten days instead of five days in a month, and/or different attendance rate, such as 75 percent of authorized time instead of 85 percent of authorized time, would increase child care provider participation in the CCDF program, while ensuring Lead Agency flexibility,” we encourage you to maintain the March 2024 rule that Lead Agencies pay providers based on enrollment rather than attendance. However, increasing the paid absences to at least 10 days a month would do the least harm. It would also be beneficial for absent days to be tied to a program, rather than a child,[24] so providers are not required to “share” absent days with other programs if a child has multiple providers.
[1] “Ohio’s childcare crisis, 2025,” K. Poe, A. Smith, H. Smith. Policy Matters Ohio. April 15, 2025.
[2] “Ohio’s childcare crisis, 2025,” K. Poe, A. Smith, H. Smith. Policy Matters Ohio. April 15, 2025.
[3] Poll Data from 2024, Groundwork Ohio. Accessed January 13, 2026.
[4] Poll Data from 2025, Groundwork Ohio. Accessed January 13, 2026.
[5] As reported in the Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association’s annual report from 2024.
[6] Ohio minimum wage adjusts for inflation to $11.00, Heather Smith, Policy Matters Ohio. December 23, 2025.
[7] Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Accessed January 13, 2026.
[8] 2025 Central Ohio Child Care Provider Survey Report, “Crisis of Affordability,” Action for Children.
[9] Appendix A to Rule 5101:2-17-01. Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Enacted June 24, 2024.
[10] “Early Learning & Child Care,” Groundwork Ohio. February 2025.
[11] For more information on the importance of high quality child care, see the November 8, 2023, report from the Administration for Children & Families titled Children’s Learning and Development Benefits from High-Quality Early Care and Education: A Summary of the Evidence.
[12] Poll Data from 2025, Groundwork Ohio. Accessed January 13, 2026.
[13] Rule 5180:6-1-02 | Application and qualification process for receipt of publicly funded child care benefits. Ohio Administrative Code. Effective November 2, 2025.
[14] Publicly Funded Child Care Family Weekly Copayment Desk Aid. Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Effective October 1, 2024.
[15] “FY 2026 Ohio Housing Needs Assessment,” Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
[16] “Phase 4.2 Cycle 09 Household Pulse Survey: August 20 – September 16,” U.S. Census Bureau. October 3, 2024.
[17] “Healthcare affordability challenges for working Ohioans,” Health Policy Institute of Ohio. September 2025.
[18] Poll Data from 2025, Groundwork Ohio. Accessed January 13, 2026.
[19] Improving Child Care Access, Affordability, and Stability in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Federal Register. March 1, 2024.
[20] 2025 Central Ohio Child Care Provider Survey Report, “Crisis of Affordability,” Action for Children.
[21] 2024 Central Ohio Child Care Provider Survey Report, “Dedication Through Difficulty,” Action for Children.
[22] See page 11, 2024 Central Ohio Child Care Provider Survey Report, “Dedication Through Difficulty,” Action for Children.
[23] In 2026, the Ohio minimum wage increased to $11 per hour.
[24] Rule 5180:6-1-10 | Payment rates and procedures for Programs who provide publicly funded child care services. Section (J)(1). Ohio Administrative Code. Effective November 2, 2025.