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July 3, 2025
Dear State and Territory Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Administrators:
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is obligated to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to advance the best interests of the government. The Secretary of HHS has determined that awards supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) do not meet a public purpose to the extent they are inconsistent with the Department's policy of improving the health and well-being of all Americans and may violate Federal civil rights law.
Consistent with these goals, the Office of Child Care (OCC) strongly encourages all recipients of formula awards funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) or section 418 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 618) to review all plans, services, strategies, and expenditures under these programs, including those made by subrecipients or contractors, to ensure that they do not support DEI initiatives or any other initiatives that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or another protected characteristic.
OCC recommends recipients take prompt action to conduct reviews for compliance with all applicable laws. Recipients are strongly encouraged to review budgets, budget justification narratives, program goals, and other materials to ensure that federal funds are not used for unlawful DEI initiatives. Expenditures found to be out of compliance with federal law may be subject to enforcement action in accordance with an applicable law and the terms and conditions of the award.
Sincerely,
Andrew Gradison
Acting Assistant Secretary
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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