Alaska child care assistance (PASS), Learn & Grow and district pre-K (2026)

Four PASS categories, and which one is yours

The Department of Health lists four categories ⁠³:

• PASS I covers families receiving cash assistance through the Alaska Temporary Assistance Program (ATAP). You ask your work services case manager, not a child care office ⁠³.
• PASS II covers families whose ATAP case closed because of earnings. Under 7 AAC 41.012 it lasts for the first year after ATAP ends ⁠¹⁠³.
• PASS III covers every other low- or moderate-income family that is working or in school or training. It does not matter whether you ever received PASS I or II ⁠¹⁠³.
• PASS IV covers children in Office of Children’s Services protective services. The caregiver arranges it through the OCS caseworker ⁠³.

For PASS II and III, the child must be under 13 and living in Alaska; a child who turns 13 keeps coverage until the eligibility period ends. Families certify assets of $1,000,000 or less ⁠¹. The provider must be approved to take CCAP, and participation is voluntary, so ask before you enroll ⁠³⁠⁴. The state pays the provider the lower of its price or the state program rate. You pay any difference above the state rate ⁠⁴⁠¹.

Alaska Family Services and thread: regional offices

The department contracts with two organizations to run PASS II and III in five service areas ⁠³:

Apply to the grantee serving the community where you live or where you work or study. Where no grantee serves, apply to the department ⁠¹. The Child Care Program Office is at 907-269-4500 or 888-268-4632 ⁠³. Enrolled tribal members can also ask tribal child care programs such as Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Tanana Chiefs Conference and Kawerak ⁠¹⁰.

The 85% SMI schedule, and the 105% law still waiting on regulations

Under 7 AAC 41.335, the income ceiling is set by the Family Income and Contribution Schedule revised February 21, 2022, which the regulation adopts by reference ⁠¹. Its top row is 85% of Alaska median incomes from 2015-2019 American Community Survey estimates ⁠². The chart starts at two people, since a PASS family is at least one parent and one child ⁠¹⁠².

Monthly figures from the schedule ⁠²; annual figures are 12 times the monthly limit. The schedule continues to 15 people ($11,721 a month).

Countable income includes gross wages, net self-employment income and most unearned income, including child support received. Permanent Fund Dividends, tax refunds, the EITC, SNAP and the first $2,000 a year per shareholder of Alaska Native corporation dividends are excluded. Child support you pay is deducted ⁠¹.

SB 95, signed June 24, 2025 as Chapter 14, SLA 2025, sets the limit in AS 47.25.001 at 105% of the state’s median monthly household income by family size ⁠⁵⁠⁶. That section depended on federal HHS action on the state plan, and the bill history records the condition as satisfied on March 11, 2026 ⁠⁵⁠⁶. The department’s FY2027 budget says it is expanding subsidy eligibility ⁠⁸. Proposed CCAP regulation changes were published July 30, 2026, with comments due September 14; the Child Care Program Office said they would take effect no sooner than November 1, 2026 ⁠⁹. Until new rules are adopted, the 85% schedule is the one in regulation ⁠¹. If you are just over it, ask your office when the higher limit applies.

Family contribution: the 2022 scale and the 7% law

Your contribution (copay) is one flat monthly amount paid to the provider. It does not change with the number of children or hours in care ⁠⁴⁠¹. On the 2022 schedule it rises in steps from 1% of gross income at the bottom to 9% at 73% to 85% of SMI ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: Family Income and Contribution Schedule, revised Feb 21, 2022 ⁠². Bands: 1% (up to 8% SMI), 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7% (52-60%), 8% (61-72%), 9% (73-85%).

Since June 2025, AS 47.25.041 has limited the contribution to seven percent of family monthly income ⁠⁷. Chapter 14, SLA 2025 made that cap effective immediately and retroactive to July 23, 2024 ⁠⁶. The 8% and 9% bands predate it. If your copay is above 7% of your gross monthly income ($433 at the 85% line for a family of three), ask your grantee to recheck it. The May 2026 federal rule that dropped the national 7% copay requirement ⁠¹⁵ does not change this, because Alaska’s cap is in state law.

Work, school and the hours Alaska will pay for

Alaska has no minimum-hours rule. Every parent in the family must be in an eligible activity ⁠¹:

• Work means a job paid at least Alaska’s minimum wage, or a licensed business whose net income works out to at least minimum wage per hour ⁠¹.
• School means a structured education or training program leading to a certificate, license, diploma or degree. It can be in a classroom or online ⁠¹.

The authorization covers your actual schedule, plus labs or tutoring (one hour per credit hour a week), travel of up to one hour each way (1.5 hours if you travel over 30 miles or use public transit) and up to 8 hours of sleep after a night shift ⁠¹. If a job or program ends during the 12-month period, benefits continue for three months while you look for work. A two-parent family can qualify while one parent is medically incapacitated ⁠¹.

When funds run short: Alaska’s wait-list order

Under 7 AAC 41.050 the department may start a wait list if appropriations fall short; we found no notice of one as of October 2026 ⁠¹⁠³. Working parents, and students with under five years of paid full-time student care, rank first; job seekers and longer-term students second. Within each tier, lowest income as a share of SMI goes first ⁠¹. These skip any list: a new child in a participating family, children with special needs, children of parents under 20 finishing high school, families that left temporary assistance for work in the last 12 months, children in protective services and homeless families ⁠¹. Homeless or disaster-displaced families get 30 extra days for ID, age, citizenship and custody papers ⁠¹.

Learn & Grow and the 10% enhanced rate

Learn & Grow, run by thread, is Alaska’s Quality Recognition and Improvement System. It has five levels, starting with Level 1, “Learning about higher quality,” with standards in up to four areas: leadership, educator qualifications, learning environment and family engagement ⁠¹¹⁠¹². Participation is voluntary, and grantees tell families how to check it ⁠¹. Separately, 7 AAC 41.030 pays 10% above the program rate, subject to funding, to providers with NAEYC, NAFCC or National Afterschool Alliance accreditation or a staff-retention and training record, and no recent licensing enforcement ⁠¹. If your child has a diagnosed special need, the Alaska Inclusive Child Care Program (Alaska IN!) can pay the provider a supplement for the extra cost ⁠¹⁠³.

District pre-K under the Alaska Reads Act

Alaska has no statewide universal pre-K. Under the Alaska Reads Act, an early education program serves 4- and 5-year-olds who have not attended public kindergarten. Once the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) approves a district’s program, the district counts each child as half a student for foundation funding ⁠¹³⁠¹². Approved programs need a certificated teacher, must run at least 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, and must serve district children regardless of family circumstances ⁠¹⁴. Other districts can compete for three-year start-up grants, capped at $3,000,000 a year in total, with lower-performing districts first ⁠¹³.

Coverage is thin. DEED’s June 2025 report lists approved programs in Anchorage (546 children), Valdez (30) and Skagway (5); $2,999,900 in early education grants to nine districts for 197 children; and $3,200,000 in pre-elementary grants to nine more districts for 354 children aged 3 to 5 ⁠¹². Whether pre-K exists, and any cost, depends on your district. State grants also pay part of the local match for all 17 Head Start programs ⁠¹².

Applying for PASS III through AKCCIS or the CC08 form

1. Find your office

   Match your community to the region table above. ATAP families ask their work services case manager for PASS I, and OCS caregivers ask the OCS caseworker for PASS IV ⁠³.

2. Choose a CCAP provider

   Ask the program whether it is approved to take CCAP. thread’s referral service can name participating providers in your area ⁠⁴⁠¹⁰.

3. Gather documents

   Photo ID for each parent; proof of each child’s age and citizenship or qualified-alien status; pay stubs for the two full months before you apply (or an employer letter for a new job); unearned income proof; class schedule and financial aid summary if you study; business license and tax return if self-employed; any custody order ⁠⁴.

4. Apply

   Apply online in AKCCIS (create an account first), or send the CC08 form to your regional office ⁠³⁠¹⁰. The office will tell you within 10 days what is missing. A complete application is due within 30 days of submission ⁠¹.

5. Do the interview

   An interview by phone or in person is required, and the application is denied if you skip it ⁠⁴⁠¹.

6. Watch for the approval notice

   If approved, your 12-month certification usually starts on the date the office received your application, as long as all documents arrived within 30 days ⁠⁴. Pay your copay, plus any amount above the state rate, to the provider each month ⁠⁴.

7. Report changes and renew

   Report changes within 10 business days. Give your provider 10 business days’ written notice before switching. Renew by the date on your renewal notice, which can be up to 60 days before your period ends ⁠⁴⁠¹.

8. Appeal in writing within 30 days

   Talk first with your caseworker or their supervisor, then file the Request for Hearing form within 30 calendar days of the decision. The CC08 advises reapplying right away, and benefits received during an appeal you lose must be repaid ⁠⁴.

Compare child care assistance in other states or see other help in Alaska.