The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) regulations state that States receiving CCDF funds conduct a Market Rate Survey within two years of the effective date of the currently approved plan. Beginning in 1999, American Indian and Alaskan Native grantees receiving CCDF funds must also conduct a survey or use the State's Market Rate survey data. The Market Rate survey needs to be completed every two years. If the American Indian or Alaskan Native grantee adopts the State's Market Rate Survey, they need to know what that survey demonstrates. This document is written to assist tribal grantees in making decisions regarding the Market Rate Survey.

A Market Rate Survey describes the rates charged by child care providers, and paid by the users of the service, within a certain geographical area. The market rate is the price for child care services charged to families who receive no help in paying for their child care. The objective in establishing subsidy rates is to have the price paid by a government subsidy plus the portion of the fee paid by the family equal to the amount paid by non-subsidized families. This helps to provide the subsidized families access to child care services across a range of providers. The market rate is different from the market cost - the cost per child when all contributions are taken into account, such as free rent, discounts, or donated services. As child care workers are frequently underpaid and have few fringe benefits, the full cost of care is really the market cost plus the unpaid wages and benefits that would be paid to workers in other jobs who have similar educational backgrounds.

The Market Rate Survey describes what rates are charged by child care providers in the service area. In the plan preprint, both States and Tribes must show how payment rates to providers are adequate based on a local market rate survey conducted not less than two years before the effective date of the current plan (§ 98.43 Equal Access (b) (2)). The results of the Market Rate Survey are used to determine what the grantee pays the child care provider and to establish a sliding fee scale that provides for cost sharing by families that receive CCDF child care services. This Guide is written to assist American Indian and Alaska Native grantees to determine the market rate charged for child care services in their area and to make the resulting decisions regarding the tribe's payment rates and family copayment fees.

This Guide is divided into Chapters. Chapter II, Identifying the Market, presents questions to assist the tribe in establishing what geographical area to survey and, within that area, which child care providers to include.

Chapter III, Determining Potential Resources, describes several groups who may be able to assist the Tribe by providing existing data, as well as helping the Tribe to conduct its own market rate survey. Critical questions related to the relevancy of other's data to tribal populations are presented in this chapter.

Chapter IV, Developing the Survey, presents a narrative description of information typically collected in market rate surveys and decisions the tribe needs to make designing the survey format. Examples of typical questions are included in this chapter.

Chapter V, Application of the Survey Data, describes what to do with the information once it is collected. Included in this chapter are sample calculations from a typical survey report. How to apply the results of the survey in establishing rates is also discussed. Again, key decisions to be made by the Tribe are explored.

Chapter VI, Summary, provides a summary of the guide and recommendations.

Whenever possible the differences in Market Rate Surveys for tribes on reservations, and those located in Alaska, California and Oklahoma are separated and highlighted.

Each chapter can stand alone in serving as a resource to tribes who need specific information on a single topic. The Guide as a whole will assist tribal personnel in making the decisions necessary to plan, develop, conduct and summarize a Market Rate Survey.

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