Families

Paying for Child Care

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  • Need Help Paying For Child Care?

The Child Care Subsidy Program assists families in paying child care costs for children under age 13 or children with special needs under age 18 who reside with the applicant. If you are eligible and are approved for services, the subsidy program can pay a portion of your child care costs directly to the child care provider.

  Subsidy Flyer - English    Subsidy Flyer - Spanish

 subsidy flyer

 Subsidy Flyer Spanish

Changes to Attendance Technology in Virginia's Child Care Subsidy Program

NEW: Child Care PASS for Families

Beginning December 1, 2025, families participating in the Child Care Subsidy Program will use Virginia’s new Child Care Program Attendance and Schedule System (PASS) to record attendance electronically. PASS is powered by KinderSystems technology.

➤ Family Update: Child Care PASS is Live (PDF, Dec. 1)

➤ ¡El nuevo sistema de horarios y asistencia (PASS) del programa de cuidado infantil ya está operando! (PDF, Dec. 1, español)

Read our Family PASS Memo to learn what’s changed and what you need to do:

➤ View the Family PASS Memo (PDF, Nov. 13)

➤ PASS: nota para familias (PDF, Nov. 13, español)

Child Care Subsidy Program Participants: Notice of Change in Policy Regarding Recording of Attendance (effective December 1, 2025)

How should families get started?

  • Discuss the upcoming PASS implementation with your child care provider to determine which training option (if any) is recommended.
  • Once your provider has registered and explained how you will connect to PASS, sponsors/families can get help by contacting KinderSystems Support via email (supportva@kindersystems.com) or phone (1-888-211-6884).
  • Families who were previously using the Virginia Electronic Child Care (VaECC) attendance system:
    • The Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) phone line, POS devices, and swipe cards are no longer active.
    • Families may safely destroy their VaECC swipe cards after November 30. 

Basic Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy Program, you must:

  • Be a Virginia resident who is either:
    • Actively employed or engaged in a job search. Let your local department of social services know if you are searching for a job during your phone interview;
    • Participating in an education or training program;
    • Receiving child protective services (CPS);
    • Participating in an assigned activity for the Virginia Initiative for Education and Work (VIEW); or
    • Participating in a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAPET) plan of participation.
  • Provide documentation of child’s citizenship or legal residence in the United States.
  • Provide documentation of child’s immunization requirements as outlined by the State Board of Health.
  • Provide documentation of household income that does not exceed the limits of the locality in which you reside.

Families of a child experiencing homelessness that cannot provide the required documentation needed to determine eligibility at the time of application may be conditionally approved for services for a period not to exceed 90 days.

Application Process

There are two ways to apply for the Child Care Subsidy Program

Your application will be reviewed within 30 days. During that time, you may be required to participate in an interview and provide documentation of basic eligibility requirements.

If you are eligible, and approved for services, your local department will authorize child care with a participating child care provider of your choice, and a portion of your child care costs will be paid directly to your provider.

Finding Child Care

Parents have different provider options they may choose to best fit the needs of their family. All parents want to support their child’s health, happiness and development. High quality child care programs feature enriched experiences that are linked to greater achievement and success in school and in life.

The Search for Child Care web tool provides facility information and inspection reports for licensed and religiously exempt child care centers, licensed and voluntarily registered family day homes and certified pre-schools.

If you would like personal assistance in finding child care, contact Child Care Aware of Virginia at 866-543-7852.

About Waitlists in Virginia's Child Care Subsidy Program

As of July 1, 2024, the Child Care Subsidy Program has introduced waitlists in many parts of Virginia. Here is what families need to know: 

Virginia is required to maintain waitlists for the Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP) when demand for services exceeds available slots.  

  • Slots and waitlists are maintained at the local level. Not all localities are running waitlists at the same time. Your local department of social services can let you know if a waitlist applies in your area. 
  • When a waitlist is in effect in your locality, new families can only be served as others leave the program.  
  • You don’t need to choose a provider or already have a child care spot to be added to the waitlist—but you do need to choose a provider before being able to officially enroll. Tools like Virginia’s Child Care Search Tool or Child Care Aware of Virginia can help you explore your options. 
  • Families are required to update their information or affirm their information is accurate once per quarter in order to stay on the waitlist. If you no longer need CCSP services, please let your caseworker know you can be removed. 

Local Departments of Social Services can help with waitlist questions.  

  • Families should contact their Local Department of Social Services (LDSS) in the county where they reside for information about available CCSP slots, their place on the waitlist, eligibility, and how to apply. 
  • Contact information for local offices is available in this directory: directory of Local Departments of Social Services.