State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Tennessee

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Tennessee could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $31,044 (170 percent of poverty, 60 percent of state median income).¹

•    Waiting list: Tennessee had frozen intake for child care assistance as of February 2010.² 

•    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 $90 per month, or 6 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 $189 per month, or 8 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, Tennessee’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    Tennessee’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in the top 21 counties in population and/or income³  was $48, or 8 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.
o    Tennessee’s monthly reimbursement rate for center care for a one-year-old in the top 21 counties in population and/or income was $30, or 5 percent, below the 75th percentile of current market rates for this type of care.

•    Tiered reimbursement rates: In 2010, Tennessee paid higher reimbursement rates for higher-quality care.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in the top 21 counties in population and/or income at the highest quality tier was 20 percent higher than the rate at the lowest quality tier.
o    The reimbursement rate for center care for a four-year-old in the top 21 counties in population and/or income at the highest quality tier was still below the 75th percentile of current market rates.

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, Tennessee allowed parents to continue receiving child care for up to 30 days while searching for a job.  However, Tennessee did not allow parents to qualify for child care assistance while searching for a job. 

¹The state has a separate American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)-funded child care scholarship program that provides assistance to low-income, working parents who have incomes up to $43,968, who are not receiving child care benefits through any other state program, and who are referred to the program by their child care provider. The scholarship program began April 1, 2009 and ended September 30, 2010; the state did not accept new children into the program after April 1, 2010.
²The state only provides child care assistance to families with a connection to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, teenage parents in school, and caretakers in TANF child-only cases who are employed full time.
³These 21 counties meet the criteria for being paid the higher reimbursement rate by being among the top 15 in average population in 2004 and/or among the top 15 in per capita income in 2002-2004. There is a separate set of reimbursement rates that apply to the remaining 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.