“Serv and Return” is an occasional series that spotlights a recent exchange on the Alliance listserv—a widely used channel for the network to provide rapid-response resources and support to one another.
Alliance allies often request information from peers in the network using the Listserv. Recently, our allies in a southern state requested updated summaries of child care reimbursement rates at the state level, so that they can compare other states’ rates to theirs, should their state implement proposed rate changes.
Responsive Support providers who are national research and technical experts in early care and education shared resources in response.
First Five Years Fund authored the brief: FAQ: Provider Reimbursement Rates (May 2023), which includes each state’s reimbursement rate percentile (of market rate) for center-based infant care.
Grace Reef from the Early Learning Policy Group shared a resource she created: Subsidy rates as % of Market Rates or Alt. Methodology and payment methods, prospective and based on enrollment (November 2024)
The Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap includes information on reimbursement rates, including each state’s base reimbursement rates for infants and toddlers.
The National Women’s Law Center’s annual state child care assistance policies report has state-by-state tables on payment rates as of February 2024: https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/State-of-Child-Care-2025-FINAL-WEB.pdf (see Tables 4C and 4D on pages 48-49).