The Child Development Council is working with families in Tompkins and Cortland Counties to help them find safe, affordable child care. We are here to help you register as a child care provider, enroll your child into a daycare or day camp, or arrange to have someone you know become your child care provider. This person could be a family member, friend or neighbor and could provide informal care in your home or theirs.
Many families may qualify for child care assistance through the Department of Social Services, but not everyone who qualifies knows about the benefit. Parents using informal child care arrangements (family, friends and neighbors) may not realize these child care providers can be paid through subsidy.
The Department of Social Services offers a child care assistance through the Low-Income Child Care Unit to help families reach their goals by finding employment, keeping employment, finishing high school or an approved educational program, so they can move toward reaching financial independence.
The Low-Income Child Care Assistance provides financial support to families who are engaged in approved activities, such as employment or school. Once a family is determined eligible for the subsidy, they are assigned a parent share based on their monthly income that they pay to their child care provider. The assistance then pays the remaining cost of child care up to the current County Market Rates directly to the childcare provider.
You may be eligible for assistance if you are:
– A high school student with children
– A single parent family who meet the definition of engaged in work or school
– Two Parent households who meet the definition of engaged in work and school
– Relatives with guardianship/custody, who are working or in school
– People actively seeking employment
– Qualifying Temporary Assistance Recipients
– Foster Parents engaged in approved work and/or school activities
Income guidelines mean a family of 4 making less than $83,250 or 1 parent and 1 child making less than $40,770 may qualify! Eligibility is determined by the Department of Social Services standards.
Please reach out today to learn more. We would love to help you.
Call The Child Development Council at (607) 273-0259 for info on enrolling your child care provider.
Call the Tompkins County Department of Social Services at (607) 274-5612 or Cortland County Department of Social Services at 607) 753-5230 to apply for childcare assistance