School-aged child care is a critical support for children and their working caregivers. Also referred to as afterschool or out-of-school time programming, school-aged child care traditionally serves children ages 5-12 and is funded through various federal and state sources. Those sources primarily include 21^st Century Community Learning Center grants administered by the U.S. Department of Education and State Education Agencies and the Child Care Development Fund administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. State and local education agencies can also leverage Title I dollars serving low-income children under the Every Student Succeeds Act to support school-aged child care and after-school programming.

21^st Century Community Learning Center grants are dedicated to academic enrichment programs that take place during non-school hours and are an important funding stream for school-age child care. In Fiscal Year 2023, more than $1.3 billion was distributed through these formula grants. The funding goes to state education agencies who then distribute the funds to subgrantees across the state.

The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) is authorized under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG). The purpose of these funds is to support access to child care for low-income families so they can work or attend job training or education programs. The program serves 1.4 million children each month, 45% of which are school-aged.

CCDF also receives transfers from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to support some of TANF’s core purposes, including: (1) providing assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives, and (2) ending the dependence of needy families on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage. In Fiscal Year 2021, states transferred more than $1.1 billion from TANF to CCDF.

Afterschool programs, or school-aged child care programs, are a critical component of the child care continuum for all caregivers, regardless of income. These programs directly support TANF Core Purpose #2. Childcare has traditionally been considered vital support for working caregivers. Low-income working caregivers, who cannot leave their jobs during the day for school pick-up, depend on trusted afterschool providers in Title I schools serving low-income children. These afterschool and school-aged childcare programs allow caregivers to work traditional (9-5) or off-hour jobs without worrying about their children’s well-being, while also providing positive youth development support.

A recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would tighten the reins on the use of TANF dollars, requiring states to more directly achieve the intended purposes of TANF. Depending on the components of the final rule, after-school providers and intermediaries will need to work with their states to demonstrate that their programs support TANF’s Core Purpose 2—work support through school-aged child care—a critical component of the child care continuum of low-income working families.