State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: District of Columbia

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in the District of Columbia could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $45,775 (250 percent of poverty, 84 percent of state median income).¹

•    Waiting list: The District of Columbia had no waiting list for child care assistance as of February 2010.     

•    Parent copayments: In 2010, a family of three with an income at 100 percent of poverty ($18,310 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $35 per month, or 2 percent of its income in copayments. A family of three with an income at 150 percent of poverty ($27,465 a year) receiving child care assistance paid $88 per month, or 4 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, the District of Columbia’s reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were below the federally recommended level—the 75th percentile of current market rates, which is the level designed to give families access to 75 percent of the providers in their community.
o    The District of Columbia’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old was $708, or 53 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    The District of Columbia’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old was $568, or 40 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, the District of Columbia paid higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old at the highest quality tier was 44 percent higher than the rate at the lowest quality tier.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old at the highest quality tier was still below the 75th percentile of current market rates.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, the District of Columbia allowed parents to continue receiving child care for up to 3 months while searching for a job.²  However, the District of Columbia did not allow parents to qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.³ 

¹In 2010, families already receiving assistance could continue doing so until their income reached $51,101.
²If a parent quits a job or terminates for cause, child care assistance is ended, but if a parent loses employment due to no fault of his/her own, child care assistance will be continued for up to 3 months from the effective date of termination from employment.
³Only parents in a structured job search program through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) can qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.

Source: Karen Schulman and Helen Blank, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: New Federal Funds Help States Weather the Storm (Washington, DC: National Women’s Law Center, 2010). These data reflect policies as of February 2010, unless otherwise indicated.