Are child care providers required to provide complete relief from copayments and tuition for families in their care while they are receiving an ARP Act stabilization subgrant?
The Administration for Children & Families' Office of Child Care encourages child care providers to provide relief from tuition and copayments, if financially possible, especially for low-income families. However, child care providers are not required to provide relief from copayments and tuition for families in their care during the ARP Act stabilization subgrant period. The ARP Act requires providers to certify that they “will provide relief from copayments and tuition payments for the families enrolled in the provider’s program, to the extent possible, and prioritize such relief for families struggling to make either type of payment”. If a provider is in the financial position to provide relief from copayments and tuition for families, they should provide that relief and prioritize the relief for families with incomes below 85 percent of state median income.