State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Hawaii

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Hawaii could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $47,124 (257 percent of poverty, 66 percent of state median income).

•    Waiting list: Hawaii 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 $203 per month, or 13 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 $405 per month, or 18 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, some of Hawaii’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    Hawaii’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old was at the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    Hawaii’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old was $30, or 2 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, Hawaii paid higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.¹
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old at the highest quality tier was 5 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 above the 75th percentile of current market rates.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, Hawaii allowed parents to qualify for or continue receiving child care assistance for up to 30 days while searching for a job.

¹The state has higher reimbursement rates for accredited center-based care for children over age 24 months through the time the children are eligible to enroll in kindergarten or junior kindergarten (usually age five by the end of the calendar year, depending on the child’s birth date). The state does not have accredited rates for care for infants and toddlers or for family child care.

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.