For the parents of Wilson County to have access to choose and receive affordable, quality child care for their children while they work. Parents will go to work each day knowing that their children are in a safe, nurturing, quality environment where they can grow and learn. NC Child Care Information Goals Our goals for the subsidy child care program are to: Provide a seamless service for families who need help paying for child care; Enable parents to maintain full-time employment in order to support their family and achieve economic independence; Increase the number of families who have access to child care to support employment; Provide children with opportunities for enhanced development through enrollment in a structured, caring and qualified child care facility/provider. What is the Subsidized Child Care Program? Using state and federal funds, North Carolina provides financial assistance for child care to many families through a locally administered state supervised program. You are free to choose your own type of child care arrangement. The amount the state pays for each child depends on: your family situation; your income; the cost of child care provided; and the type of public funds from which the payment is made. Each County receives an annual amount of state and federal funds from the State to spend for subsidized child care services. If the Department of Social Services does not have enough funding to serve all families who apply for subsidized child care, the families can be placed on a waiting list until funding becomes available. Who is Eligible? You may receive child care assistance for one or more of the following reasons: you are employed full-time; you are in school or in a job training program; your child is receiving child protective services; your child needs care to support child welfare services; your child has developmental delays. What is meant by eligible child care providers? Parents (or the legal guardian) may choose their provider from a variety of types including licensed centers, registered homes, and approved religious sponsored programs. In all situations, the provider must be operating legally. Federal regulations require that in most instances, providers must meet some type of health and safety standards and agree to certain conditions in order to receive public funds. How Do I Qualify? Your income must be within the limit that is established by legislation for subsidized child care (unless the child is receiving foster care services, or child care is needed to support child welfare services or child protective services). This limit is 75% of the state median income for the number of persons in the family. Most families are required to pay a percentage of the child care fee based upon their countable monthly income. The percentage depends on the number of people in the family. The Department of Social Services determines the amount of the parent's fee and notifies the provider and parent of the amount to be paid by the parent. The parent is responsible for paying the fee directly to the child care facility/provider. The following chart is used to determine what percentage of the child care fee you may be required to pay based upon family's maximum monthly income and the number of people in the family. % of Fee 10% 9% Family Size 1 2 3 4 5 Maximum Monthly Income $1,836 $2,401 $2,966 $3,531 $4,096 % of Fee 8% Family Size 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Maximum Monthly Income $4,661 $4,767 $4,873 $4,979 $5,085 $5,191 $5,297 Example: A family of 3 earning up to $2,200 per month would be expected to pay 9% of their monthly income for child care. Whether the family has 1 or 2 children in care at a rate of $257 per child, the family's total fee would be $198 for full-time care (regardless of the number of children in care). The family would pay the $198 to the child care provider and the county would pay the remaining fee to the child care provider. A CHILD (Author Unknown) If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive. If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself. If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to hate. If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident. If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative. If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. If a child lives with recognition, he learns to have a goal. If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice. If a child lives with friendliness, he learns that the world is a nice place in which to live.