King County Child Care Financial Assistance Program:
What is the King County Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFA)?
King County has allocated $7 million of its federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding to support King County families with the cost of their child care. Eligible families may receive financial assistance to pay for their child care at eligible providers (see below for criteria). Child Care Resources is administering the program in partnership with King County.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible for the King County Child Care Financial Assistance, families must meet ALL below criteria:
1. Live OR work in King County;
2. Have children needing care between the ages of birth to 12 years 11 months, or children between the ages of 13 years to 17 years 11 months who have a disability or special needs;
3. At any time in the past year, has your income, work hours, health or child’s health and wellbeing, or access to child care been negatively impacted by COVID-19?
4. Have an income below 80% Area Median Income (AMI):
|
Household Size
|
Gross Monthly
Income Limit
|
|
2
|
$6,033
|
|
3
|
$6,788
|
|
4
|
$7,542
|
|
5
|
$8,146
|
|
6
|
$8,750
|
|
7
|
$9,354
|
|
8
|
$9,958
|
|
9
|
$10,558
|
|
10
|
$11,163
|
*** Please note that meeting eligibility requirements and completing an application will not guarantee your family will be selected for the program. Funding will not be on a first-come, first-served basis. The process is not a lottery, so only one application per family is necessary. ***
How does this program work with other child care subsidy programs?
Working Connections Child Care (State of Washington):
This program can support families with a Working Connections Child Care subsidy co-payment but will not replace Working Connections. If you are eligible for Working Connections, you will need to apply through the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. We will need proof of denial from Working Connections to be eligible for the King County CCFA program.
Child Care Assistance Program (City of Seattle):
Families enrolled in the City of Seattle Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) DO NOT need to apply for this subsidy. If you are a prioritized applicant, we will work with City of Seattle to raise your total financial assistance to the amount you would have received by accessing King County CCFA. The City of Seattle CCAP program will contact you directly if this applies to you. There is no need to submit another application.
How do I apply?
· Online at: https://bit.ly/KingCCFA
· Call the Child Care Aware of Washington Family Center at 1-800-446-1114 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm) for technical and language support. Our team can assist with interpreter services in multiple languages.
What will I need to apply?
· Income Verification:
o Please provide two most recent paystubs and/or other proof of income for all adults in your household (including child support, unemployment insurance, SSI/SSD, etc).
o Feel free to black-out any personally identifying information (SSN, bank account info etc.) other than full name, employer, employee home address, payment amount and date of statement.
o If you are experiencing homelessness or have any concerns about verifying your income, please let us know and we will provide alternative means of verification.
· If your home or work address in King County is listed on your paystub, no additional proof of residency or work in King County is required; otherwise, families will need to submit the following to demonstrate residence or employment in King County. If you are experiencing homelessness or otherwise unable to verify your home address, please let us know and we will provide alternative means of verification.
Residency Verification:
Documentation must be no more than 3 months old, include the name of the applicant, and cannot be envelopes or personal correspondence.
o Submit ONE from this list:
§ Utility Bill (Gas, Water/Garbage, Light/Electrical, Cable, Landline phone)
§ Home/Renter’s Insurance
§ Mortgage Document
OR
o TWO from this list from different sources:
§ Insurance document (health, car, etc.)
§ Benefits document (DSHS, SSI, paystub, etc.)
§ Financial document (Bank Statement, retirement, credit card statement)
§ Other bills
§ Driver’s License
§ Lease or Housing Agency letter
Employer Verification (Only necessary if you do not live in King County): Must include the name of the employee and the employer and the physical address of the workplace. If these things are included in your income verification documents, there is no need to submit additional documentation. A picture of one of the following items will suffice:
§ Work ID badge;
§ An email from a work email address with name and contact information in the signature line;
§ A business card;
§ Paystub;
§ Work schedule w/employer visible.
Where can I use my child care financial assistance?
To be eligible to receive the King County ARPA Child Care Financial Assistance, a child care provider must meet the following criteria:
· For providers serving children ages 0-5, they must be:
o Licensed, in good standing with the State of Washington; and
o Participating in the Early Achievers Program OR
o A comparable quality accreditation like NAEYC, NAFCC or Montessori.
· For providers serving school-age only children, they must be operating legally.
What does the child care financial assistance pay?
The child care financial assistance pays a monthly rate determined by a family’s income and household size. The program will pay up to the amount authorized for each individual child or the provider’s rate, whichever amount is lower. Assistance will start on the 1st of the month after an application has been approved.
The program can also support Working Connections Child Care Subsidy copays in full, and the copay amount for other subsidy programs approved by Child Care Resources and King County.
**Please note **- Child Care Resources will pay the child care provider directly. Any part of the bill not covered by financial assistance will be the responsibility of the family.
Will I be guaranteed an award if I submit an application?
No, meeting program eligibility requirements and applying will not guarantee your family will be selected for the program. The application process is not first come, first served. The process is not a lottery, so only one application per family is necessary.
When can I expect to hear from you after submitting a complete application?
We will process applications as quickly as we can. After submitting a complete application with supporting verification materials (income and residency/work), you can expect to receive notification of the status of your application by the 20th of that month at the latest. You may receive a status update sooner, depending on volume, or you may receive a waitlist notification.
What do the application statuses mean?
Denied-You are currently ineligible for the King County CCFA program. Your email will explain why you have been denied. If you believe you have been denied in error, please contact us.
Approved-You have been selected for the King County CCFA program and your authorization will start on the 1st of the following month. (For example, if you are approved in August—your authorization will start September 1st. If you are approved sometime in September, your authorization will start October 1st etc.)
Pending-Your application is still being processed and we will keep sending update notifications until it has been fully processed.
What if I have a question that is not addressed here?
Please call or text our Family Resource Center at 1-800-446-114 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm) or email us your question at KingCCFA@childcare.org
