Reports on the variety of federally funded block grants used by each state to improve access to high-quality child care and early education programs for immigrant and Limited English Proficient (LEP) children. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program is the largest source of federal child care funding to states and require biennial reports on the activities funded through these grants. Based on their review of these reports, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) offered four broad recommendations for policy-makers: (1) nurture coordination and collaboration between the child care/early education providers and the immigrant/refugee communities they serve; (2) design child care/early education programs to address the specific needs of immigrant families with young children; (3) reinforce the child care/early education curriculums with strategies to expand access to high-quality care to immigrant children; and (4) build the linguistic and cultural competency of social services and licensing agencies. Specific examples in various states are provided to illustrate the variety of programs implemented across the country. Although there are a multitude of approaches, no set of “best practices” has emerged nationwide and only six states are employing five or more different strategies to hasten access to high quality child care for these communities. Overall, CLASP recommends increased cultural competency training for service and licensing agencies in order to create a strong network of support for the immigrant families and children.
