I want to see if I’m eligible for child care financial assistance
STEP 1: Determine if you meet the eligibility requirements
There are thousands of workers who will qualify as COVID-19 Frontline Essential Workers. In order to help prioritize available child care, the following essential workers are given priority:
- Healthcare and pharmacy workers
- First responders
- Workers in child care services, in support of workers in other essential functions
- Critical infrastructure workers in grocery, utilities, and trucking
- Other identified infrastructure workers, which include critical state and local government staff; mail/delivery services; nursing homes, home health care and other direct care providers; banks; gas stations; military; and restaurants and other food delivery
| Family Size | Annual Household Income (Approx. 150% SMI) at or below | Monthly Household Income (Approx. 150% SMI) at or below |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | $80,000 | $6,700 |
| 3 | $99,000 | $8,200 |
| 4 | $118,000 | $9,800 |
| 5 | $136,000 | $11,300 |
| 6 | $155,000 | $13,000 |
| 7 | $159,000 | $13,200 |
| 8 | $162,000 | $13,500 |
| 9 | $166,000 | $13,800 |
| 10 | $169,000 | $14,100 |
STEP 2: Complete the application
- If you are an essential worker, financial assistance for child care may be available to you. Contact your Local Board to determine if you qualify and if funds are currently available. Your Local Workforce Development Board will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
STEP 3: Choose a child care provider.
- Visit the Frontline Child Care Availability Portal to search for a child care provider near your home or work who might have availability for your child(ren).
- Call the provider and review their website (if applicable) to understand whether the provider meets your needs.
- If interested in reviewing the provider's licensing history, visit Texas Health and Human Services Search for Child Care Operation portal.
- If you want to apply for financial aid, once you choose a provider, check their "financial aid status"on the Portal.
- If they are part of the financial aid program, simply contact the provider to begin the enrollment process.
- Providers not already part of the financial aid program will contact their Local Workforce Development Board and to start the provider agreement process.
Additionally, for essential workers in a two-parent family: If the other parent is able to care for the child or is not an essential worker, then he or she will be considered to be available to care for the child at home, and the family will not be eligible for financial assistance.
If you work in any of these industries and make less than 150% of state median income (see chart below), please continue with this process. If not, check back in the future for any changes and explore your other options on this website.
STEP 4: Receive Child Care
- Your Local Board will notify if you are approved for financial assistance.
- Contact the child care program to complete enrollment.
- Child care provider is paid directly by their Local Workforce Development Board once they have an agreement in place (see Step 3). You pay no fees
For more information please visit TWC COVID-19 Resource website