Delaware child care assistance: Purchase of Care, Delaware Stars and ECAP pre-K (2026)

How one Division of Social Services handles every POC case

DSS combines its funding streams into one “seamless” program, so a family leaving TANF keeps the same provider without reapplying ⁠¹. Children qualify if they are under 13, or 13 through 18 and unable to care for themselves. Children who are homeless, in foster care or receiving protective services also qualify ⁠¹. DSS does not count cars, homes, savings or life insurance, so POC has no asset test ⁠¹.

Parents choose any DSS-contracted center, family home or large family home, or a relative caregiver (relatives are limited mainly to evening and weekend hours) ⁠¹. A provider whose regular slots are full may offer “Purchase of Care Plus,” where you also pay the gap between the state rate and its private price. POC+ is optional ⁠¹.

225% of poverty: the entry limit from October 1, 2026

Section 178 of Senate Bill 335, the FY2027 budget signed June 30, 2026, raised the POC entry limit from 200% to 225% of the federal poverty level (FPL) as of October 1, 2026 ⁠³. DSS has told providers that families who were turned down as over income should reapply on or after that date ⁠⁴. DSS measures gross monthly income and publishes new limits each October in its cost-of-living notice ⁠¹⁠². Applied to the 2026 HHS poverty guidelines, the new limits are:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Annual figures are 225% of the 2026 HHS guidelines ⁠⁵⁠³. DSS’s own October 2026 monthly chart could not be retrieved because the DHSS site blocked our access, so its rounding may differ by a dollar or two. The last column is DSS’s published chart for October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 ⁠².

Delaware sets its limit by poverty level, not state median income (SMI). DSS’s FFY2026 chart put 85% of SMI at $7,503 a month for three, so the new $61,470 entry limit is about 58% of SMI ⁠². DSS counts wages, self-employment earnings, child support, Social Security and unemployment, but not SNAP, student aid, tax refunds or need-based rental help such as New Castle County’s Family HOPE Project payments ⁠¹.

Keeping POC after a raise: the 325% phase-out and the 85% SMI ceiling

You are authorized for 12 months at a time. A raise during that period does not end care unless your income goes above 85% of SMI ⁠¹. If your income is above the entry limit at your yearly redetermination, Delaware gives you a 12-month graduated phase-out. From October 1, 2026, the phase-out runs up to 325% of poverty (up from 300%), which is $88,790 a year for a family of three ⁠³⁠⁵. Above 325% at redetermination, the case closes. A case also closes at any time if income goes over 85% of SMI. For families of four or more, the 85% SMI ceiling ($8,932 a month for four on the FFY2026 chart) can fall below 325% of poverty, so in practice the SMI ceiling applies first ⁠¹⁠².

The copay: $0 up to 150% of poverty, then up to 7% of income

Under DSSM 11004.7, DSS waives the copay for families at or below 150% of poverty. It also waives it for TANF families, families referred by the Division of Family Services (including foster families), parents 18 or younger attending high school, and families whose income after shelter, utility and medical costs is below 40% of poverty ⁠¹. Above 150%, the monthly copay may not exceed 7% of gross income. DSS’s FFY2026 chart lists the copay for families between 150% and 300% of poverty as 7% of gross income ⁠¹⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Chart for October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 ⁠². The FFY2027 thresholds are based on the 2026 guidelines and the new 325% ceiling ⁠³.

For example, a family of three earning $4,000 a month on the FFY2026 chart would owe at most $280 a month (7%). You pay it directly to the provider. A reported pay cut lowers it, and it cannot rise above your starting amount during the 12 months ⁠¹. Senate Substitute 1 for SB 278, signed August 17, 2026, requires copays to reflect whether a child is authorized for a full or half day of care ⁠⁶⁠⁷. The federal rule that required a 7% cap was repealed in May 2026 ⁠⁹. Delaware’s 7% limit is written into its own regulation, DSSM 11004.7, and was still in force in October 2026 ⁠¹.

No hours minimum, but each parent needs a reason for care

POC has no weekly-hours test. Each parent or caretaker must have a need that keeps them away from the child, and in a two-parent home both parents must have one ⁠¹. Qualifying needs include:

• A job paying at least the federal minimum wage, or a job offer
• TANF or SNAP Employment and Training, or the Transitional Work Program
• Job search, or a break between training programs (up to three months)
• Middle school, high school or a GED program
• A parent’s or child’s special need documented on DSS Form 611
• A protective-services referral from the Division of Family Services ⁠¹

A college degree program counts only through a TANF or SNAP Employment and Training plan, and parents who already have a bachelor’s degree do not qualify on that basis ⁠¹. If you lose your job, care continues for three months. If your need ends for good, DSS gives 90 days before it closes the case ⁠¹.

Who goes first if DSS starts an Unmet Need Waiting List

When demand reaches available funding, DSS may place income-eligible children on an “Unmet Need Waiting List” ⁠¹. The pages we checked in October 2026 mentioned no waiting list. Instead, DSS told families who had been over income to reapply ⁠⁴. If a list does open, DSSM 11004.3.1 serves these groups first ⁠¹:

1. TANF families

   TANF employment-and-training participants and working TANF recipients are guaranteed care ⁠¹.

2. SNAP E&T and teen parents

   This covers SNAP participants who must do Employment and Training, and teen parents in middle school, high school or a GED program ⁠¹.

3. Special needs, homelessness and very low income

   This covers children or parents with special needs, homeless families, and families who pass the 40%-of-poverty hardship test ⁠¹.

4. Protective care

   These children are referred by the Division of Family Services, up to an agreed cap (280 children in the rule) ⁠¹.

Homeless families get 90 days of presumptive care before they provide documents ⁠¹. Under the CCDF plan, they are served without going on a waiting list ⁠⁸.

Delaware Stars is paused while the Quality Improvement System is rebuilt

State law requires the Department of Education to run a quality improvement system ⁠¹²: the voluntary Delaware Stars for Early Success ⁠¹⁰. In October 2026, My Child DE lists Stars ratings as “on hold and being restructured” ⁠¹¹. The Department has published new Quality Indicators and Key Practices and an FY27 Program and Policy Guide ⁠¹⁰. Until new ratings appear, compare providers with licensing inspection results or the Children & Families First line, 800-734-2388 ⁠¹¹. From October 1, 2026, POC rates for children from birth to age 5 rose 10%, and rates for children with a special-needs designation rose 20%. These raises do not change family copays ⁠⁴.

ECAP: Delaware’s free pre-K for families at or below the poverty line

The Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP) is Delaware’s state pre-K under 14 Del. C. §3001. As long as funds are appropriated, the Department of Education must provide free early childhood education to eligible preschool-age children through contracts with public and private providers, including Head Start ⁠¹². ECAP is open to children from income-eligible families, defined on the Department’s partner page as income at or below the poverty line ($27,320 a year for a family of three in 2026). Children with an IEP or IFSP qualify regardless of income, as do children in foster care, homeless children and TANF families ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴⁠⁵. Programs follow Head Start Program Performance Standards and run September to May. Pre-enrollment takes place each spring and again in August ⁠¹³.

Delaware children start kindergarten if they turn 5 on or before August 31 ⁠¹⁵. That makes ECAP’s main year the one in which a child is 4 by August 31. Some partners also serve 3-year-olds, infants and toddlers ⁠¹⁴. The Department’s pages do not state one statewide ECAP age cutoff, so confirm with the program. Delaware has no universal pre-K; families above the poverty line can use POC at a licensed preschool ⁠¹.

Applying for POC through ASSIST or a DSS office

1. Check your limit

   Compare your gross monthly income with the 225% table and confirm each parent has a qualifying need ⁠¹⁠³.

2. Gather 30 days of proof

   You need pay stubs or an employer letter on letterhead (DSS Form 170 also works), award letters for other income, and a class schedule or training letter with start and end dates. Add Form 611 if a special need is the reason for care ⁠¹.

3. Apply

   Use Delaware ASSIST online, visit any DSS office, apply by phone, or mail, fax or email an application to your local office ⁠¹.

4. Complete the interview and choose a provider within 30 days

   If you do, care can start back to the first day of the application month for days your child already attended. Between 30 and 60 days, care starts when DSS receives your papers. After 60 days you must reapply ⁠¹.

5. Use presumptive care if you need care right away

   DSS can open care for one or two months while your verifications are pending ⁠¹.

6. Read your approval

   The notice lists your copay and the number of authorized days. Your provider gets an authorization letter or DSS Form 626 ⁠¹.

7. Report changes within 10 days

   You only have to report income that goes over 85% of SMI, job loss, the end of training, or a move out of state ⁠¹.

8. Appeal if you are denied, reduced or closed

   DSS must give 10 days’ notice before ending care. You can request a fair hearing, and the hearing officer must decide within 90 days of your appeal ⁠¹.

For summer camps, SS 1 for SB 278 lets DSS authorize a camp provider as early as January 1 ⁠⁶.

See child care assistance in other states and more Delaware programs.