On July 13, 2026, a new federal rule for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) took effect. CCDF is the federal money behind state child care subsidies, including Oregon's Employment Related Day Care program (ERDC). The rule, titled Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and Development Fund, removes four requirements that a 2024 rule had placed on states.12
If you run a center that takes subsidy, the rule doesn't change anything on your end by itself. It changes what your state is required to do. Whether anything changes for you depends on what your state decides next.
The four requirements that were removed
| 2024 requirement | What states may do now |
|---|---|
| Cap family copays at 7% of family income | Set copays however they choose, as long as copays aren't a barrier to families getting help (the standard in the underlying law) |
| Pay providers in advance, at the start of care | Pay in advance or within 21 days after receiving a completed invoice |
| Pay based on a child's enrollment, not attendance | Pay on enrollment; pay in full if the child attends at least 85% of authorized time; pay in full if the child misses 5 or fewer days a month; or use another approach in the state's plan |
| Use some grants or contracts for infant/toddler care, children with disabilities, and underserved areas | Choose whether to use grants or contracts at all |
Summarized from the Administration for Children and Families' description of the 2026 CCDF final rule.1
States keep the option to continue any of the 2024 policies. ACF says states can decide based on what works in their communities and what helps them prevent fraud.1 In June, congressional Democrats, with Oregon's Rep. Suzanne Bonamici among the leads and Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Rep. Janelle Bynum signed on, introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the rule.3 As of mid-September we haven't seen it advance.
Where Oregon stands
DELC's ERDC page still says family copays can't exceed 7% of a family's monthly income.4 We haven't seen DELC announce any change to copays or provider payments in response to the federal rule. Oregon was already making its own ERDC changes, though, and those matter more to your billing this year:
- Absences. Under ERDC rules effective June 1, 2026, payments for a child end when the child has been absent for one full calendar month, or when the child's connection to your center ends before the next month's billing.5
- Your rate. The same rules removed the requirement that providers not charge ERDC families more than other families, because DELC's new system will pay at the ERDC maximum rate regardless of a provider's own rate.5
- Extra hours. Additional authorized hours can't be approved just because drop-off or pick-up times are inconvenient.5
- The waitlist. ERDC has had a waitlist since November 2023. After SB 1535 (2026), DELC can now turn individual waitlist exemptions on or off.45
More ERDC changes are proposed for January 1, 2027, including provider rates negotiated with both child care unions.5 We cover those, and the new billing system, in ERDC in 2026.
Why this matters for any subsidy center
The practical risk in the federal change is attendance. If a state moves from paying on enrollment to one of the attendance-based options, a center's subsidy revenue starts to depend on how many days each child actually shows up, and on whether you can prove it.
Some states are already tightening attendance records. Since June 22, 2026, Minnesota has been phasing in a requirement that licensed centers receiving child care assistance submit enrollment and attendance electronically.6 Texas requires subsidy providers to use a state attendance system, and parents record attendance daily.7
Oregon hasn't announced anything like that. But whatever your state picks, the same habits protect you: record check-in and check-out as they happen, note the reason for each absence, and when a time is wrong, write down what actually happened the same day.
What to do now
- Don't change your billing because of the federal rule alone. Watch for notices from DELC (or your state's subsidy agency).
- For Oregon: check that your enrollment records mark a child as withdrawn promptly, since ERDC payments now end after a full month of absence.
- Make sure every subsidy child's attendance has real check-in and check-out times, not just "present."
- If you have a family on the ERDC waitlist, point them to DELC's ERDC page for exemptions they might qualify for.
In RoundUp, attendance times come straight from check-in and check-out as they happen. See Attendance and check-in and Subsidy and ERDC.
Sources
- Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. 2026 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Final Rule, May 13, 2026.
- Federal Register. Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), 91 FR 25796, May 12, 2026.
- Office of Rep. Suzanne Bonamici. Press release on Congressional Review Act resolution, June 24, 2026.
- Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care. Employment Related Day Care (ERDC).
- Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care. Rulemaking: Employment Related Day Care (effective June 1, 2026; proposed January 1, 2027).
- Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Statewide electronic attendance records.
- Administration for Children and Families. How Texas Achieves Strong Program Integrity in CCDF, August 17, 2026.
Sources last read September 16, 2026. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.