In this study we analyzed administrative data on children receiving child care subsidies in Maryland between 2007 and 2014 in order to investigate the continuity of subsidy participation over time. The study found wide variation in subsidy continuity for different children, and overall patterns were fairly consistent across different years. The median spell length was 25 weeks, with a slight downward trend in recent years. One-quarter of subsidy participation spells were less than 12 weeks long, and almost one-quarter of spells lasted at least one year. After leaving, only about half of the children returned to the subsidy program, and of these, most returned within a year. Families receiving subsidy for training or education rather than employment had both shorter participation spells and shorter gaps between spells. Short spells of subsidy participation may undermine the achievement of the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program goals of supporting families' economic self-sufficiency and supporting the healthy development of children. (author abstract)