Over 400,000 U.S. children remain on federal childcare assistance waitlists

According to a May report by the National Women’s Law Center, more than 400,000 children are on waiting lists for federal childcare assistance, a figure that has more than tripled over the past two years. The surge reflects limited funding for the Child Care and Development Fund, which Congress has failed to fully appropriate, and the loss of temporary pandemic relief that had bolstered the sector. Roughly 118,800 children were on waitlists in early 2024, and seventeen states now report statewide or county-level queues, a rise from the early 2000s. State officials describe a trade-off between serving more families with modest subsidies or fewer families with aid that more closely matches provider costs.

Oregon, for example, maintains a 26,000-child waitlist while keeping family co-payments low and paying providers well, resulting in fewer families receiving larger subsidies. The overall participation rate for the program remains low, with only about 22% of eligible families receiving aid each month as childcare costs continue to climb.