Maryland Child Care Policy Research Partnership

Last Updated: August 11, 2025

Child Trends and the Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE) Division of Early Childhood are partnering through 2026 on a series of federally funded Child Care Policy Research Partnership grants. MSDE is the Lead Agency administering Maryland’s Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program and the state’s quality rating and improvement system (QRIS), Maryland EXCELS (Excellence Counts in Early Learning and School Age Care).

Effects of CCDF Policies and State Investments on Access to High Quality Subsidized Care in Maryland (Grant #90YE0220, awarded in 2019 for FY 2020-2023)

The goal of this project was to understand how child care policies and initiatives enacted by Maryland following the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 were associated with access to high-quality care for families eligible for a child care subsidy. The project examined Maryland’s child care market and the declining supply of family child care providers; providers’ participation in the Child Care Scholarship program (Maryland’s child care subsidy program) and Maryland EXCELS (Maryland’s QRIS); and families’ participation in the Child Care Scholarship program, focusing on the following Maryland policies and initiatives:

Increased income eligibility thresholds for families to receive Child Care Scholarships funded through the CCDF child care subsidy program
Increased reimbursement rates for providers serving children with a Child Care Scholarship
Required provider participation in Maryland EXCELS to be reimbursed for serving children with a Child Care Scholarship
One-time bonuses for initial Maryland EXCELS rating publication and annual bonuses for maintaining the highest rating (level 5)

Collectively, these policy levers aimed to increase the number of families receiving subsidies and incentivize providers to both participate in the subsidy program and increase their quality. This project also responded to MSDE’s immediate information needs by examining shifts in parents’ child care needs and utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Understanding the Child Care Workforce and Changes to the Child Care Scholarship Program in Maryland (Grant #90YE0288, awarded in 2022 for FY 2023-2026)

This project focuses on three areas of inquiry. First, we are gathering data on the current characteristics of the child care and early education workforce in Maryland and on their professional development and other needs. Second, we hope to obtain insights into the experiences of families applying for and utilizing Maryland’s Child Care Scholarship (i.e., CCDF subsidy) program. Third, we are identifying geographic areas with low usage of high-quality child care among children using a Child Care Scholarship.

The project focuses on the impact of the following MD policies and initiatives:

The project examines each of the following MD policies and initiatives:

Increased income eligibility thresholds for families to receive Child Care Scholarships
Increased reimbursement rates for providers serving children with Child Care Scholarships
Reduced family copayments for families receiving Child Care Scholarships
Presumptive eligibility for families applying for Child Care Scholarships
Advance payments for providers serving children with a Child Care Scholarship
Automatic redetermination for families receiving Child Care Scholarships

Resources

The following publications were generated as part of the first grant (#90YE0220; FY 2020-2023): Effects of CCDF Policies and State Investments on Equitable Access to High Quality Subsidized Care in Maryland. Products for the second grant (#90YE0288; FY 2023-2026) are forthcoming.

COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences