Hawaii child care assistance: Child Care Subsidy, Preschool Open Doors and free public pre-K (2026)

Hawaii’s 2021 income chart and the SMI catch-up

DHS describes its limit as 85% of state median income (SMI). The chart DHS actually uses took effect August 6, 2021 and is still the one linked from the DHS subsidy page and the state’s FFY 2025-2027 CCDF plan ⁠¹⁠³. In that plan, DHS reported 85% SMI figures drawn from 2019 LIHEAP state median income estimates. Those figures are higher: $6,202 a month for a family of three and $7,384 for four ⁠³. The applied chart is lower, at $5,867 and $6,985 ⁠². The federal Office of Child Care flagged this as noncompliant because the limits do not use the most recent Census data. DHS set a target date of December 30, 2026 for revised rules and system changes ⁠⁴. Until DHS posts a new chart, use the 2021 figures in the table above.

Income means gross monthly income before taxes and deductions. It includes wages, self-employment earnings, child support, benefits and public assistance ⁠³. For a job you already have, DHS averages the prior two months of gross pay. It can also leave out temporary or irregular increases ⁠³. Family assets cannot exceed $1,000,000 ⁠³. Your child must be under 13, or 13 through 18 if a physician or psychologist confirms the child cannot care for themselves. You must live in Hawaii, though there is no minimum residency period ⁠¹⁠³.

No hour minimum, but both parents must be active

DHS sets no minimum number of hours for work, school or job training ⁠³. What counts:

• Work: paid employment or self-employment ⁠³.
• Job training: vocational or technical skills training ⁠³.
• School: enrolled in and taking part in a program as the school defines it. Education by itself qualifies, with no added work requirement ⁠³.

In a two-parent family, both parents must be in one of these activities. The exception is a parent who is permanently disabled, which DHS verifies with the DHS 915 report ⁠¹⁠⁵. A minor parent’s adult caretaker applies on the minor’s behalf, and the minor must work, attend school or be in training ⁠⁶. Looking for work does not qualify you at first application. If you lose your job or leave school after approval, DHS gives you up to three months to start a new activity before it ends payments ⁠³. Eligibility is redetermined every 12 months ⁠¹.

Copays from 0% to 9%, and where the 7% question stands

The copay is a percentage of the family’s gross monthly income, charged once per family whatever the number of children ⁠³. The bands come from the 2021 chart, which uses multiples of the poverty guidelines ⁠²:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Even-numbered bands (2%, 4%, 6%) fall between the rows shown. Source: DHS chart ⁠². At the 9% rate, a family of three earning $5,000 a month owes about $450.

Copays are waived for families at or below 100% of the poverty guideline, families experiencing homelessness, and children receiving child protective services when the court-ordered case plan calls for child care ⁠³. If your child attends an accredited group center, a Hawaiian-medium center, a licensed infant and toddler center, or a licensed group center or group home, DHS waives part of your copay: up to $100 per child, but never more than the cost of care ⁠³. Providers may charge more than the subsidy plus your copay, and DHS does not cap those extra charges ⁠³.

The top rate of 9% was above the federal 7% cap in the 2024 CCDF rule. Hawaii had a federal waiver through August 1, 2026, and planned to adopt a 7% scale by December 30, 2026 ⁠⁴⁠³. The federal rule published May 12, 2026 (effective July 13, 2026) removed the 7% requirement ⁠¹⁴. As of October 20, 2026, DHS still posts the 9% scale and has not announced whether it will go ahead with the 7% change. Expect copays to follow the 2021 chart until DHS publishes amended rules.

Who goes first: TANF, First-to-Work and protective cases

DHS accepts subsidy applications statewide and year-round ⁠¹. It does not publish a waitlist for the Child Care Subsidy Program. Under its CCDF plan, it serves these families without placing them on any waiting list, waives their copays and pays higher rates for higher-quality care ⁠³:

• families whose child is receiving child protective services, when the court-ordered case plan specifies child care
• families who need child care to meet First-to-Work (TANF employment program) requirements
• former TANF families eligible for Transitional Child Care

Families experiencing homelessness get at least two months of care (a “stabilization period”) while they gather documents ⁠³. Children who are homeless or in foster care have up to three months after starting care to provide immunization and exam records. Proof of tuberculosis clearance is still needed before the first day ⁠³.

Accreditation, not stars: how Hawaii rewards quality

Hawaii has no star-rated quality rating system. The only quality levels DHS recognizes are three accreditations: NAEYC, the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA), and the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) ⁠³. Centers with NAEYC or NECPA accreditation get a higher payment rate. When the plan was written, the accredited center-based rate was $980 a month, which DHS said reached only the 16th percentile of 2023 market prices. The infant and toddler rate was $1,733 ⁠³. DHS plans to raise rates to at least the 75th percentile in rules due by December 30, 2026 ⁠³⁠⁴.

Preschool Open Doors: tuition help up to 500% of poverty

POD is a separate DHS subsidy for preschool. New rules in Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 17-799.1 took effect May 29, 2026 ⁠⁷. Parents do not need to work or study. Instead, the family’s gross monthly income must be at or below 500% of the federal poverty guidelines for Hawaii ⁠⁷. For 2026-27 that is $10,371 a month for two, $13,092 for three, $15,813 for four and $18,533 for five ⁠⁸. Children born August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2024 can apply, which covers up to three years before kindergarten ⁠⁹. The preschool must be a DHS-licensed group center or group home, or an exempt center-based provider listed with DHS ⁠⁶⁠⁷.

DHS pays the lower of the actual tuition or $1,500 a month (accredited or Hawaiian-medium preschools) or $1,200 (non-accredited), minus the family’s copay ⁠⁷. For 2026-27 the copay tier is 0% up to 185% of poverty, 1% up to 300%, 2% up to 400% and 3% up to 500%. For a family of three, those cutoffs are $4,844, $7,855, $10,473 and $13,092 a month ⁠⁷⁠⁸. Under the rule, the tier is multiplied by the payment rate (or the tuition, if lower), not by your income. On that reading, a family of three earning $9,000 a month at an accredited preschool would pay a copay of $30, and the family pays any tuition above the rate ⁠⁷. Licensed foster parents applying for a foster child have no income limit and no copay ⁠⁷.

The 2026-27 application period opened May 29, 2026. It runs until 4:30 p.m. on May 31, 2027, or until the money runs out ⁠⁹. In October 2026 the DHS application portal warned that POD slots are limited in certain regions ⁠⁶. Approved families who cannot be funded go on a waitlist in the order DHS received their applications. When money frees up and there is not enough for everyone, children are chosen by age group (kindergarten-eligible first, then 3-year-olds, then 2-year-olds), lowest income first within each group ⁠⁷. A child cannot get POD and the Child Care Subsidy for the same preschool or type of care ⁠⁷.

Free EOEL Public Pre-K on DOE campuses

EOEL’s Public Prekindergarten Program costs families nothing. It runs on the school-day schedule of each host school in 117 classrooms on 89 DOE campuses, with at most 20 children and two teachers per class ⁠¹¹⁠¹². Children must be 3 or 4 on or before July 31. For 2026-27, that means a birthday from August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2023 ⁠¹⁰. EOEL gives priority to children in special education whose placement is general education, English learners, children in foster care, children who are homeless or unstably housed, children facing other at-risk situations, and families on TANF or SNAP or with income at or below 300% of poverty. For a family of three, that last limit is $7,855 a month or $94,260 a year ⁠¹⁰. From March 2 to June 30, 2026, seats went to priority applicants in their home school region, first come, first served. Since July 1, the remaining seats have been filled in order of application, with priority applicants still preferred ⁠¹⁰. There is no before- or after-school care on campus ⁠¹¹.

Applying to the Child Care Subsidy Unit, step by step

1. Pick your checklist

   On the DHS subsidy page, open the document checklist that fits you: employed, in school or in training; self-employed; homeless; foster family; CPS case; or minor parent ⁠¹.

2. Gather proof

   You will need a photo ID, each child’s certified birth certificate or passport, recent pay stubs or a DHS 1266A new-employment form, school or training enrollment showing credits or hours, and custody papers if they apply. Self-employed parents also need a DHS 1273C report or tax records ⁠⁵⁠¹.

3. Apply online or by DHS 911

   Online, upload documents before you submit; you cannot add them afterward. Or send the paper DHS 911 to the Waipahu unit by mail or to [email protected]. Check “both” if you also want POD ⁠⁵⁠⁶.

4. Apply early

   Processing can take at least 45 days. DHS asks families to apply 30 days before care starts. Payments start no earlier than the date DHS has a complete application and an approved provider ⁠⁵.

5. Choose a provider with PATCH

   Once DHS finds you eligible, PATCH (808-839-1988) helps you choose care and sends the DHS 918 provider confirmation forms. Every provider, including relatives, must pass background checks. Exempt providers take longer to approve ⁠⁶⁠⁵.

6. Receive payments

   Depending on the arrangement, DHS pays you by EBT card or direct deposit, or pays a licensed provider directly. You pay your copay to the provider ⁠¹.

7. Appeal in writing within 90 days

   If you are denied or your payments are cut, send a signed hearing request so that DHS receives it within 90 calendar days of the date it mailed the notice ⁠¹³. For help, call the Public Assistance Information Line at 1-855-643-1643 and choose option 7 for Child Care ⁠⁶.

Compare child care assistance in other states, or see Hawaii TANF and First-to-Work and other help in Hawaii.