State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Idaho

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Idaho could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $23,184 (127 percent of poverty, 46 percent of state median income).

•    Waiting list: Idaho 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 $153 per month, or 10 percent of its income in copayments. 

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, Idaho’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    Idaho’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in the Boise Metro Area (Region IV)¹  was $110, or 18 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    Idaho’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old in the Boise Metro Area was $73, or 11 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

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

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, Idaho allowed parents to continue receiving child care until the end of the month in which they lost their previous job while searching for a job.  However, Idaho did not allow parents to qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job.  

¹Region IV includes Ada, Boise, Elmore, and Valley Counties.

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.