Righting a Wrong: Advancing Equity in Child Care Funding for American Indian & Alaska Native Families
Photo: Bipartisan Policy Center
Click to access Righting a Wrong: Advancing Equity in Child Care Funding for American Indian & Alaska Native Families
“There are approximately half a million AI/AN children under the age of 13 who potentially need child care so their parents can work. Nearly half are below the age of five. Access to affordable, quality child care is a challenge for most American families, but the challenges are greater for AI/AN parents and compounded by the high unemployment rates, limited job opportunities and lack of proximity to child care programs of any type. Even though Native American children are more likely than all other groups to be living in poverty (the poverty rate for AI/AN children is twice the national average) as First Americans, they have not been a priority for policymakers and are often an afterthought when it comes to Congress.”
This report begins with a the structure and function, eligibility, and funding of Tribal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) plans. Subsequent sections delve into a study of demographic trends, culturally relevant care, marginalized children, supply building, and more. Lastly the report dives in quality improvement goals, plans, and final recommendations.
This 2022 report by the Bipartisan Policy Center can be used by Tribal/Native leaders to understand the gaps in child care, view recommendations, and utilize this research for advocacy.
Recommendations from this Report:
The following summarizes the recommendations in our report. The full report provides a more detailed set of recommendations and the basis for each.
Congress:
Establish a data-driven method based on the actual number of AI/AN children for determining funding levels set aside for tribes rather than a flat percentage. This will ensure tribes receive sufficient funding to effectively provide services.
Add language in CCDBG that would authorize tribes to access FBI fingerprinting.
Provide funding and technical assistance to support the implementation of early childhood mental health consultants in tribal child care and Head Start programs. This should include extensive coordination with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Conduct oversight hearings on tribal child care and specifically examine the extent to which HHS and the BIA coordinate oversight of the use of CCDBG funds to support child care services and quality improvement.
Federal Agencies:
5. The Census Bureau and Department of Commerce should work with tribes and other federal agencies to ensure more accurate data on this population. At a minimum, this should include HHS, ED, Department of Agriculture, DOL, and BIA.
6. HHS should streamline the Tribal CCDF Plan to reduce duplication and ensure that child count data are submitted at the same time in one document. HHS should ensure that Tribal Plans, including child count data, and other basic demographic information are publicly available so Congress and other policymakers can effectively set funding levels based on the actual number of AI/AN children.
7. The HHS Interagency Task Force on Child Safety (ITFCS) on the implementation of criminal background checks should address how tribes access interstate checks and NCIC/NSOR compliance, and the impacts on a Tribal Lead Agency’s ability to comply with the regulatory requirements.
8. The BIA should make the 477 Tribal Plans publicly available in an easily accessible, online database to promote greater understanding of the program and allow tribes and policymakers access to the data needed to make necessary improvements.
9. HHS should include an open-ended narrative section in the Tribal Plans asking tribes to explain how their quality goals, provider trainings, and curricula are culturally relevant for AI/AN children in their programs. HHS should require tribes to report on progress on these goals from one cycle to the next.
10. HHS should require all tribes to define underserved groups and how they are prioritizing services to them, particularly children with special needs and children experiencing homelessness. Additionally, HHS should collect comprehensive data on cases of child abuse and neglect in tribal communities so it may better understand, coordinate with, and support tribes and inform specific policy recommendations empowering the community to effectively address instances of abuse and neglect as they arise. HHS should require tribes to describe specific efforts taken to prevent suspensions and expulsions in tribal child care centers and how they will reduce instances of harsh discipline.
Tribes
11. Tribes should coordinate CCDF-funded and Head Start programs to reduce duplication; ensure better alignment of program standards and policies, needs assessments and data collection, and monitoring efforts; and ensure more culturally relevant services for children and families.
States
12. States with large AI/AN populations should recruit early childhood staff who have a cultural understanding of AI/AN communities.