Child Care Financial Assistance Options

Paying for quality child care can be a struggle for many families in the United States. The cost of child care is often the biggest part of a family’s budget and can be higher than the cost of housing, food, or even college tuition.

If you need help paying for child care, there are programs that can help. Below is a summary of different programs that may be available to help with the cost of child care.

Note: Your state or territory’s online child care search may indicate if a provider participates in a government financial assistance program or offers its own assistance or discounts. To find your state or territory’s online child care search, visit the "Find Child Care” page.

Government Programs

• Child care financial assistance (also called vouchers, certificates, or subsidies): States and territories receive funding from the federal government to provide child care financial assistance to help families with low-income pay for child care so they can work or attend school. Eligibility requirements are different in each state. Select your state or territory on the “See Your State’s Resources" page and review the “Financial Assistance for Families” tab to find your local child care financial assistance program.

• Head Start and Early Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start programs help prepare children from birth to age 5 for school and provide services to support children’s early learning and development, mental well-being, and physical health. Head Start and Early Head Start are available at no cost to eligible families with low-income. Select your state or territory on the “See Your State’s Resources" page and review the “Child Development and Early Learning” tab to find Head Start and Early Head Start programs in your state or territory.

• State-funded prekindergarten: State-funded prekindergarten programs serve children between 3 and 5 years of age and focus on helping children get ready for kindergarten. Some states offer these programs to eligible families at low or no cost. Programs may be part-day or full-day. Select your state or territory on the "See Your State’s Resources”page and review the “Child Development and Early Learning” tab to see if public prekindergarten is available in your state or territory.

• Military child care financial assistance programs: There are several programs that help military families pay for child care, wherever they are stationed. To learn more, visit the Child Care Financial Assistance for Military Families page.

Local and Provider-Specific Assistance and Discounts

• Local assistance and scholarships: Local nonprofit organizations and individual child care providers may offer fee assistance or scholarships. Ask the providers that you are considering if they offer any child care assistance or scholarships.

• Sibling discount: Some child care programs offer a discount to families that enroll siblings. They may take a percentage or a specific dollar amount off of a child’s weekly or monthly fee. They may also waive the registration fee or other fees. If you need care for more than one child, ask providers whether they offer sibling discounts.

• Military discount: Some civilian child care providers (not associated with military child care) offer discounts for military service members. Ask potential providers if they offer a military discount.

Work- and School-Related Programs

• Employer-sponsored Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account: Some employers may allow employees to put a portion of each paycheck into a special fund called a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, or “FSA,” to pay for child care services while the employees work. The money you contribute to a Dependent Care FSA is not subject to payroll taxes, so you end up paying less in taxes and taking home more of your paycheck. It can only be used to pay for dependent care, such as child care. Check with your human resources department to see if your employer offers this program.

• Other employer resources: Some companies offer child care onsite for employees’ children. In addition, some child care programs may offer discounts for employees of certain companies. Find out if your employer has relationships with any nearby child care programs that offer employee discounts.

• College or university child care: Some colleges and universities offer child care on campus. These programs may offer special discounts to students, faculty, and staff.

Native Hawaiian, Native Alaskan, and American Indian Programs

• Tribal Child Care Financial Assistance: Many Tribes and Tribal organizations receive child care grants from the federal government to provide child care financial assistance to Tribal families. There are also more than 150 Head Start and Early Head Start programs that serve American Indian and Alaska Native children. Find these programs with the Head Start Center Locator.

• Child Care Assistance for Indigenous People of Hawai’i and other Pacific Islands child care and preschool programs: There are programs in Hawaii that assist with cost of child care and preschool for children of Indigenous People of Hawai’i and other Pacific Islands. Families should contact PATCH (the local child care resource and referral agency) for more information.

Tax Credits and Support

Tax credits reduce the amount of tax you owe and may result in a tax refund. To claim tax credits, you need to meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if you have no other filing requirement or owe no income tax.

• Child and dependent care tax credit: This credit is available to people who had to pay for child care for their children (younger than age 13) so they could work or look for work.

• Earned income tax credit: This tax credit helps low- to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. If you qualify, you can use the credit to reduce the taxes you owe and possibly increase your refund.

• IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance: This program provides free tax help to eligible low-income taxpayers.

Speak with a tax specialist or visit https://www.irs.gov/ to learn more about these tax credits and more.

Your Responsibilities Once You Find Care

The work isn’t over once you find child care. Understanding the contract you have with your provider and staying involved in your child’s child care setting are both very important to a successful arrangement.

Child Care Contracts

It’s important that you and your child care provider understand the expectations of the care arrangement, and that the responsibilities for you and your provider are clear.

Once you choose a child care provider and agree to enroll your child in their program, you’ll need to sign a contract with your provider before starting care. A contract provides details about the partnership between you and your provider and can help prevent misunderstandings. The contract should include things you and your provider have discussed and agreed on relating to your child’s care. This includes your child’s schedule, rates and fees, how vacations and absences are handled, and what you must do if you want to stop care. Here are some things that you can expect to see in your contract:

• Costs: This covers the rate you will pay, frequency of payment (for example, weekly or monthly), and any additional fees.

• Payment and fees: This information explains when payment is due, acceptable forms of payment, and late fees.

• Hours of operation

• Services: This includes additional services, such as meals and snacks.

• Program schedule and closures: This specifies days the program is closed and whether payment is required for those days.

• Termination policy: This specifies how much notice is required if you or the provider needs to terminate the agreement.

• Authorized adults: This allows parents or guardians to identify who is approved to pick up children from care.

• Parent and provider signatures and date(s) signed

In addition to a signed contract, your provider should have written policies for other important situations. There are typically policies for illnesses, discipline and guidance, emergencies, field trips, and transportation.

Stay Involved

You and your child care provider should work as partners to support your child’s well-being. Building a strong relationship with your child care provider is one of the best ways to help ensure your child is happy, safe, and learning while in care.  

Talking with your child’s caregivers and visiting and participating in activities at your child’s program sends a strong message. It tells both your child and your child’s caregiver that you are interested in what your child is doing, and that learning is important.

Here are some ways for staying involved and ensuring care meets your child’s needs.

Talk with Your Child Care Provider Regularly

Drop-off and pick-up times provide good opportunities for talking with providers. If your provider is not available during these times, ask about other ways you can talk about how things are going and how your child is doing. For example, you can plan a scheduled time for calls or check-ins via notes, texts, or emails. Find a time and a way to communicate that works for both you and your child’s provider.

• Ask how your child is doing.

• Share suggestions and concerns and what you like about the program with your child’s provider or the program’s director or owner.

• Share information about your child with your provider, including relevant health information, updates on what happens at home, and your child’s interests.

Find Ways to Participate

Here are some other ways to stay involved in your child’s program.

• Visit regularly and at various times to see different parts of the daily routine. Also consider dropping in unannounced to observe what happens when providers don’t plan ahead for your visits.

• Look for ways to volunteer when needed. Ask the program about the requirements for volunteers and how they organize help. Volunteering can take many forms. Possibilities include the following:

  • Help in the classroom, such as reading to books to children during circle time.

  • Be a class representative and organize help from other families to support the classroom and its teachers.

  • Participate in activities and special events, such as bookfairs, field trips, show and tell, career day, Black History Month, and other celebrations.

• Look for ways you can support your child’s learning at home and at child care.

  • Work with your provider to develop a learning plan for your child.

  • Talk with your provider to identify activities that can be done both at home and in child care that will support your child’s growth and development. Consider your child’s age, strengths, interests, and abilities.

  • Work with your provider to create activities that reflect your family’s culture and traditions.

Talk with Your Child

It’s also important to stay connected with your child so that you can understand what they do at child care and how they feel about it.

• Ask your child how they feel about their day. For example, “Did you have a happy or sad day? Why?”

• Ask your child what they do during the day. For example, “I had to read a lot of things today at work and had fun talking to my coworkers. What did you do today? What was the best part? What wasn’t your favorite? Who did you play with?”

• Ask your child how they interacted with the caregiver. Listen carefully to what they say. For example, “What did you do today with Ms. Anne? Did you have fun? Do you like seeing Ms. Anne?”

• Observe your child’s behavior during drop-off and pick-up times. Talk with your caregiver about any changes or concerning behavior.

• If your child says that they do not want to go back, ask them why they feel that way. For example, “Do you have fun playing with the other kids?  Do you like your teachers? What part of the day is not your favorite?”  Be sure to follow up with the caregiver to discuss.

Informal In-Home Child Care

Informal in-home child care is care provided in the child’s or caregiver’s home by a person who is a relative, friend, neighbor, babysitter, or nanny. This type of care may also be known as family, friend, and neighbor care and is not usually regulated by states or territories. Informal in-home child care can range from a few hours at night for a parent’s night out to full-time care arrangements.

Is Informal In-Home Care Licensed?

Many informal in-home child care providers are not required to have a child care license to legally provide care. For instance, most states and territories do not require an in-home child care provider to be licensed if they provide care on an occasional basis, provide care in your home, or are related to the children in their care. However, it is important to understand that when an in-home child care provider is not licensed or regulated by your state or territory, they are not monitored to ensure that they are meeting basic health and safety requirements (including passing criminal background checks) or meeting key child care training standards (such as being first aid and CPR certified).

Your state or territory may regulate some informal in-home child care providers, depending on the child care licensing rules in your state or territory.

For instance, some states require an individual who is caring for a certain number of children in their own home to be licensed to ensure the children’s safety. If you are considering an informal child care arrangement in which your child will be cared for in another person’s home, it is important to understand the child care licensing rules in your state or territory to ensure that the informal in-home child care provider you are considering isn’t operating illegally.

To learn more about what child care licensing is and why it is important, see the “How is Child Care Regulated to Ensure Children's Health and Safety?” page.

Why Choose an Informal In-Home Child Care Setting?

Families may choose informal in-home child care for a variety of reasons, including the following:

• Some families are most comfortable with a relative or caregiver they know and trust. 

• Some families believe their children will feel more secure in their own homes.

• Some families may need the flexibility informal in-home care can offer. This is especially true if they work nontraditional hours, such as second and third shifts, when most other types of care settings are closed.

• Because the provider can come to the family’s home, informal in-home care removes the burden of transporting children to and from care.

• Informal in-home care is often less expensive, especially if there are several children in the family.

• Informal in-home care can be a good fit for families that don’t need child care on a full-time or regular basis.

Key Resources

Here are some resources to help you learn more about your child care options:

• If you’d like to learn more about your state or territory’s child care licensing requirements, be sure to use a trusted source of child care information, such as your state or territory’s child care consumer education website. To find your state or territory’s child care consumer education website or information about child care licensing, select your state or territory on the “See Your State’s Resources”  page and review the “Understanding and Finding Child Care” tab.

• Many states also have child care resource and referral agencies that can answer your questions about who should be licensed by phone, in person, online, or via email. Staff may also be able to provide you with more information about informal care options. To contact information for your local child care resource and referral agency, select your state or territory on the “See Your State’s Resources” page and review the “Understanding and Finding Child Care” tab.

• To learn more about how to find and choose quality child care, visit the “How Do I Find and Choose Quality Child Care?” page.

Monitoring and Inspections

Each state and territory has child care licensing staff who must make regular onsite, in-person visits to monitor and inspect all licensed child care programs. These visits ensure programs continue to meet licensing requirements. Licensing staff document the results of these visits through monitoring and inspection reports.

Federal law requires states and territories to post the results of child care monitoring and inspection reports online. This requirement ensures that families have access to information on how well each program meets child care health and safety requirements. Families can then use that information to make the best child care choice for them.

Monitoring and inspection reports should be easy to understand. They should also share the following:

• Date of the monitoring or inspection visit

• Health and safety violations, if any

• Actions taken by the program to correct such violations

• Actions taken by the state to address the violations

• Substantiated complaints (which are complaints that the state or territory has investigated and found to be valid) for a program’s failure to adhere to health and safety requirements designed to protect children’s health and safety

Find online child care inspection reports by selecting your state or territory on the “See Your State’s Resources" page and selecting the “Understanding and Finding Child Care” tab.

Health and Safety Requirement

Federal law requires states and territories to ensure that all licensed child care programs meet minimum health and safety requirements to operate. Here are some of those health and safety requirements:

• Sanitation requirements help stop the spread of germs and include handwashing, diapering, toileting, and general cleaning.

• Healthy practice requirements keep children physically active and support rest, including infant safe-sleep practices.

• Children’s health requirements include physicals, immunizations, and how the program must handle sick children and store and give medication.

• Program staff health requirements include physicals, tuberculosis testing, drug screening, and required vaccinations.

• Building safety requirements include inspections to make sure the building structure, outdoor play space, and playgrounds are safe, meet fire safety codes, and are free of hazards that could hurt children.

• Emergency planning requirements ensure programs are prepared to keep children safe during an emergency.

Learn how your state or territory manages child care licensing by selecting your state or territory on the “See Your State’s Resources" page and reviewing the “Understanding and Finding Child Care” tab.