Ccdm-2026 - child care and development fund -- state matching

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families awarded the State of Alaska Department of Health $15.282 million on October 1, 2025 under the Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development Fund (CFDA 93.596), a formula grant that helps families with low incomes access child care and improves child care quality for all children.

The award funds child care licensing, child care resource and referral services, and related child care assistance activities in Alaska through September 30, 2027. The State of Alaska Department of Health acts as the recipient and lead agency, with obligated amount of $15.282 million.

The department sub-awarded funding to the Municipality of Anchorage for child care licensing operations under two sub-awards dated September 22, 2025 and July 22, 2026, and to Child Care Connection, Inc. (doing business as Thread), Alaska's statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Network, for resource and referral services under a sub-award dated July 17, 2026. Thread provides training and professional development for early educators, connects families to child care providers, and assists families with child care subsidies.

The Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds portion of the Child Care and Development Fund operates as a mandatory entitlement under section 418 of the Social Security Act and is not subject to annual appropriations. Recipients must submit three-year CCDF plans for Administration for Children and Families review and approval within ninety days, designate a lead agency accountable for fund use, hold public hearings with at least twenty days of statewide notice, and coordinate services with other federal, state, and local child care programs. Performance occurs in Alaska.