The purpose of Modeling the Cost of Child Care in the District of Columbia report is to inform rate-setting and early care and education policies in the District of Columbia to ensure equal access to high quality child care for our youngest and most vulnerable residents.
The reauthorized federal Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 provided states with an option to develop and use a statistically valid and reliable alternative methodology for setting payment rates, such as a cost estimation model.
OSSE implemented a cost modeling approach to explore the likely costs of delivering services at each level of the District’s current Quality Rating and Improvement System in center and home-based settings that serve children of mixed ages and needs. In this effort, OSSE consulted with the District’s State Early Childhood Development Coordinating Council, which was legislatively created in March 2011 pursuant to the Pre-k Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2008 to improve collaboration and coordination among entities carrying out federally funded and District-funded Pre-K and other early childhood programs.
