Understanding California's 2026 Federal Child Care Monitoring & Oversight Visit
What is the federal child care monitoring & oversight visit?
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is scheduled for its next federal child care monitoring and oversight visit in July 2026 by the Office of Child Care (OCC), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Federal monitoring visits occur periodically in all states and territories that administer CCDF funds. This visit is designed to confirm that the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is appropriately used to support eligible families and helps ensure all children are cared for by approved providers in environments that are healthy and safe, in accordance with the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act, CCDF regulations, and the state’s approved CCDF Plan.
What happens during the review process?
As the state’s CCDF lead agency, CDSS will be working with federal reviewers to share how federal requirements are implemented and administered. The 2025-2027 monitoring cycle reviews
· Eligibility and Enrollment,
· Equal Access,
· Health and Safety,
· Comprehensive Background Checks, and
· Program Integrity and Accountability.
One part of this process involves a subsidized child care case file review where OCC will examine subsidized child care case files maintained by state contractors.
Federal reviews use a sample of contractors rather than reviewing every agency that receives CCDF funding. A small number of contractors from across the state have been selected by CDSS to participate in the case file review to help illustrate how policies are implemented in practice.
If your agency has not been contacted by CDSS to participate in this review, you do not need to take any action.
Agencies participating in the review can expect to be asked about eligibility, enrollment, and ongoing program requirements, and to provide supporting documentation. Click here for a sample interview and more information about the process. It is important to remember that this review is focused on California’s administration of CCDF. The discussions with contractors are an opportunity for OCC to learn more about what California’s policies look like in practice.
Why is this important for contractors?
The federal monitoring process helps ensure consistency and accountability in the way CCDF dollars are spent. Much like contract monitoring reviews, the federal monitoring process provides an opportunity for California to identify strengths and areas for improvement. The findings from this process can help inform future guidance, technical assistance, and policy implementation.
For example, CCB No. 24-21 was published following a federal monitoring visit. This CCB provided updated guidance to contractors to ensure that California complies with the federal minimum eligibility periods.
Even if your agency is not participating in this year's review, understanding how federal and state oversight systems work can help program leaders better understand the broader policy environment in which subsidized child care programs operate.
Once the visit is completed, the Federal Monitoring and Oversight visit report can be found on ACF’s website.