State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Georgia

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Georgia could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $35,200 (192 percent of poverty, 61 percent of state median income).

•    Waiting list: Georgia 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 $129 per month, or 8 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 $190 per month, or 8 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, Georgia’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    Georgia’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in Fulton County was $91, or 16 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    Georgia’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old in Fulton County was $91, or 14 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates:  In 2010, Georgia did not pay higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, Georgia allowed parents to continue receiving child care for up to 12 weeks while searching for a job.¹  However, Georgia did not allow parents to qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.² 

¹Parents can continue to receive child care assistance while searching for a job under an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-funded secondary child care program. The program in its entirety will end September 30, 2010.
²Only Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) applicant/recipients 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.