State Child Care Assistance Policies 2010: Wyoming

•    Income eligibility limit: In 2010, a family of three in Wyoming could qualify for child care assistance with an annual income up to $48,175 (263 percent of poverty, 79 percent of state median income).¹

•    Waiting list: Wyoming 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 $10 per month, or 1 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 $68 per month, or 3 percent of its income in copayments.

•    Reimbursement rates: In 2010, Wyoming’s reimbursement rates for child care providers serving families receiving child care assistance were at 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.

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

•    Eligibility for parents searching for a job: In 2010, Wyoming allowed parents to qualify for or continue receiving child care assistance for up to 60 days while searching for a job.² 

¹This income limit takes into account a standard deduction of $200 per month ($2,400 a year) for each working parent, assuming there is one working parent in the family. The stated income limit, in policy, was $45,775 in 2010. As of July 1, 2010, the stated income limit to qualify for assistance was decreased to $41,198 (225 percent of poverty).
²The state is using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to allow parents to receive child care assistance while searching for a job. This policy went into effect as of June 2009. The state will stop providing child care assistance to parents searching for a job when ARRA funds are expended.

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.