Parents who cannot look after their children during work hours can consider dropping them off at a daycare. These facilities care for kids of all ages, including infants, toddlers, and schoolgoers. That said, one might have to shell out a huge amount for this service. Infant care, for instance, can cost between $400 and $1,500 monthly. Low-income families who need assistance paying for daycare can avail of several useful programs.
Head Start and Early Head Start
These programs are run by local non-profit organizations, school districts, and community action agencies and are completely free. Parents with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers looking for a daycare may benefit from them. That said, one will need to meet certain eligibility requirements to qualify. For instance, to be approved for the Early Head Start program, one’s child must be under three years old. Similarly, the Head Start program requires children to be between three and five years old.
While these programs do not directly provide financial assistance, they help people find a low-income daycare nearby and sponsor the fees. Facilities that fall under the Early Head Start and Head Start programs follow federal requirements and are licensed by the respective state or territory. People looking for a free daycare can visit the official website of these programs to find a facility. The website has a handy tool that helps one find a qualifying daycare using a map. One can also learn more about ways to apply for these federally-funded services on the website.
Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
This program offers subsidies to low-income families so that they can access quality child care. Different states have different eligibility criteria for their CCAP initiative. For example, the Illinois Department of Human Services’ CCAP program caters to kids under 13 years. Children between 13 and 19 years may also qualify if they are incapable of performing self-care or if they are under court supervision.
CCAP supports eligible low-income families by giving them subsidies to pay for daycare. The periodically-paid subsidies allow parents to go about their job or educational course without worrying about their children. The centers falling under CCAP may be categorized as licensed centers, license-exempt centers, licensed family child care homes, and license-exempt family child care providers.
Child Care Aware of America
Some organizations aim to make daycare affordable for families who have served the country in some capacity. For instance, the Child Care Aware of America offers federal subsidies exclusively for members of the military and the Department of Defense. Families with members who have served in the Navy, Air Force, Army, or Marine Corps get free assistance and regular payments from the organization for daycare services.
Child Care Aware of America has a national network of more than 500 resource and referral (CCR&Rs) agencies and partners that work together to ensure affordable child care. The organization’s Fee Assistance and Respite Child Care Programs have served more than 150,000 families. These programs have also worked with over 60,000 childcare providers over nearly 20 years.
Free Pre-K programs
Quality preschool education is important as it helps children learn life skills. Some of the fundamentals kids learn in preschool are self-management, how to work with others, gross and fine motor skills, how to make independent choices about learning, and various numeracy skills. A preschool also performs the role of a daycare—keeping children safe and engaged while their parents are out at work.
Unfortunately, most preschool institutes, also known as Pre-K schools, are expensive and out of the budget of many. With that in mind, certain states offer preschool programs to help low-income families enroll their kids in Pre-K schools. To qualify, beneficiaries must meet certain income restrictions and adhere to strict policies.
Depending on the location, Pre-K school programs either offer free services or make it mandatory for parents to pay a portion of the cost. For instance, states like Florida and Vermont offer free preschool regardless of parents’ financial status. Other states, such as Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa, offer selectively subsidized preschool.
Employer-driven programs
Apart from considering state-funded programs, people can check whether their employer offers assistance to make daycare more affordable. Many companies in the country offer partial or full coverage of daycare services for their employees’ children, along with other benefits. While this requires the organization to invest money, it helps reap lasting rewards in the form of employee retention, positive brand image, and higher productivity.
Companies may partner with certain daycare centers to have them offer heavy discounts or fully covered services to their employees. Alternatively, certain employers may offer reimbursements for employees’ daycare expenses.
School-sponsored subsidies
Certain schools and universities offer financial assistance to their students to help them pay for daycare. For example, Oregon State University offers the OSU Student Child Care Subsidy and OSU Student Child Care Assistance programs. Some universities also provide subsidized on-campus daycare for eligible students. Since such programs are specific to a given school, parents will need to speak to the authorities working there to know whether any benefits are available.