Despite the importance of child care assistance, families in
twenty-seven states were worse off in February 2012 than
in February 2011 under one or more child care assistance
policies covered in this report, and families in seventeen
states were better off under one or more of these policies.4
The policies covered are critical in determining families’
access to child care assistance and the extent of help they
receive from that assistance—income eligibility limits to
qualify for child care assistance, waiting lists for child care
assistance, copayments required of parents receiving
child care assistance, reimbursement rates for child care
providers serving families receiving child care assistance,
and eligibility for child care assistance for parents
searching for a job.