Illinois child care assistance and Preschool for All: CCAP limits, copays and ExceleRate (2026)

Who decides your CCAP case: CCR&Rs, Site Administered centers and Chicago

IDEC sets the rules and pays providers, but it does not process applications itself. Sixteen Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies, each covering its own service delivery area, decide eligibility, handle redeterminations and changes, and help parents find care ⁠⁴. Some licensed centers hold Site Administered contracts and determine CCAP eligibility for the families enrolled with them. The City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services holds one of these contracts and subcontracts with 20 centers and home networks in Chicago ⁠⁴.

CCAP is a voucher-style subsidy. The state pays your provider up to its maximum daily rate, minus your co-payment ⁠². Providers that are not Site Administered may charge you the difference between their private price and the state maximum ⁠⁴. Ask about that gap before you enroll. Your child must be under 13, or under 19 with a documented disability or under court supervision. Your family must live in Illinois ⁠⁵.

CCAP’s three income lines for July 2026 to June 2027

Illinois indexes CCAP to the federal poverty level (FPL) each July 1. One statewide table applies. There are no county variations ⁠³⁠⁴.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: IDHS CCAP Policy Manual 01.02.01, revised July 1, 2026 ⁠³. Families of 9 and 10 are also listed there. CCAP has no one-person family size.

As a share of state median income (SMI), the entry limit is about 57% of SMI for a family of three. This is our calculation from the 85% SMI figure of $7,624. The CCDF plan reported 58% for the prior year ⁠³⁠⁴.

Each line triggers a different outcome ⁠³⁠⁵:

• At application, gross income must be at or below 225% FPL. In two-parent homes, both parents’ income is combined.
• At redetermination, you can qualify for another 12 months with income up to 275% FPL, as long as you file no later than 30 days after your eligibility period ends. File later than that and it is treated as a new application at the 225% limit.
• Between 275% FPL and 85% SMI at redetermination, you get a 3-month graduated phase-out. Your co-payment rises to the highest amount for your family size.
• Above 85% SMI at any time, your case is canceled 10 calendar days after the termination notice.

What a CCAP co-payment costs in 2026-27

IDEC’s co-payment chart, revised July 1, 2026, sets a flat monthly amount by family size and gross income, whatever the number of children or the price of care. Your approval notice names one provider to collect it ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The $1 band ends at 100% of the federal poverty level. School-age children approved for part-time care (under 5 hours a day) pay 50% of these amounts from September through May (Table B) ⁠²⁠⁸.

The highest entry co-payment works out to about 6.85% of income. The Illinois CCDF plan, Amendment 2, was approved July 1, 2026. It reports a 7% maximum ⁠⁴. The federal rule that required states to stay at or below 7% of income was removed from 45 CFR 98.45 on May 12, 2026 ⁠¹¹. Illinois has not used that repeal to push co-payments higher: the July 2026 chart still tops out just under 7% of income at every family size ⁠².

Some families pay less, or nothing ⁠⁷⁠⁸:

• $1 a month: families at or below 100% FPL, and families with a parent who works in a child care program for 75% or more of their regular duties.
• $0: relatives other than parents who receive child-only TANF; families approved for CCAP Protective Services Child Care because they are experiencing homelessness or leaving DCFS Intact Family Services; deployed military families; parenting youth in care (and for 12 months after their DCFS case closes); and families in DCFS’s Extended Family Support Program.

During a 12-month eligibility period, your co-payment can go down if your income drops. It cannot go above the amount set at the start ⁠⁹.

Work and school rules, including two-parent homes

Illinois sets no minimum number of work hours. CCAP approves care hours that are reasonably related to your work or training schedule, plus travel time ⁠⁴. In a two-parent household, both parents must be working, in school or training, or establishing an activity. The exception is when one parent cannot provide care because of a documented disability, rehab treatment, military service away from home, or a Department-approved program such as TANF work activities ⁠⁶. For TANF families, any activity in the caseworker’s Responsibility and Services Plan counts ⁠⁴.

Education has its own time limits ⁠⁵:

• Adult basic education, ESL, high school equivalency and vocational certificates: no work requirement for the first 24 months. After that, you must work at least 20 hours a week.
• Associate’s or first bachelor’s degree: no work requirement for 48 months, then 20 hours a week. You must keep a 2.5 GPA if you do not work, or 2.0 if you work 20 or more hours.
• Teen parents in high school or equivalency classes get full-time, full-year care, through three months after graduation.

A rule allows one 3-month period a year to set up an activity “subject to appropriation” ⁠⁵, but the CCDF plan says job search is not an eligible activity ⁠⁴. Once you are approved, losing your job does not end care right away. You get a grace period of at least 90 days, and there is no limit on how many you can have in a year ⁠⁹.

No CCAP waitlist today, but a priority order on the books

IDEC has not announced a waitlist or intake freeze, and the rule states an intent to serve every eligible applicant “to the extent resources permit” ⁠³⁠⁵. If money runs short, the rule limits new enrollment to these priority groups ⁠³⁠⁵:

1. TANF recipients in approved work or training activities.
2. Teen parents in school full-time.
3. Working or studying families with a child with special needs and income at or below 185% FPL.
4. Working families at or below 185% FPL.
5. Non-TANF families at or below 185% FPL who need care for education or training.

Families experiencing homelessness who report a work or school activity are approved for 12 months. They have 90 days to turn in proof ⁠⁴.

ExceleRate Illinois circles and the CCAP rate add-on

ExceleRate Illinois is the state’s quality rating and improvement system. It has four Circles of Quality. The Licensed circle means a valid state child care license. Bronze, Silver and Gold require extra training and assessments and set higher quality benchmarks ⁠⁴. For CCAP families, the rating affects your provider’s pay: Silver programs get a 10% add-on and Gold programs a 15% add-on for each CCAP child. License-exempt home providers can earn 10% to 20% by completing training tiers ⁠⁴. When you compare providers, a Gold or Silver program is getting paid more by the state for your child, though it may also charge more above the state rate ⁠⁴.

Preschool for All and Preschool for All Expansion

Preschool for All (PFA) is not an entitlement. It is a grant program run by school districts and community providers with Early Childhood Block Grant funds, now through IDEC ⁠¹³. Classes run at least 12.5 hours a week, taught by licensed early childhood teachers ⁠¹³. Preschool for All Expansion (PFAE) operates in high-need communities. It offers at least 5 hours a day, with a family educator and a mental health consultant ⁠¹⁴.

• Age: 3 by September 1, up to kindergarten age (5 on or before September 1). Programs may enroll the most at-risk children who turn 3 after September 1 on their third birthday ⁠¹⁵.
• Cost: No fees of any kind. Programs may not charge for registration, snacks, supplies or field trips, or ask families to provide them ⁠¹⁵.
• Who gets a seat: Each program screens children with a weighted eligibility checklist that includes local risk factors, then enrolls the highest scores first. Youth in care and children who meet the federal definition of homelessness are ranked as most at risk. Other common factors include low family income, a home language other than English, and teen parents or parents without a high school diploma ⁠¹⁵. Grant priority goes first to programs serving mostly at-risk children. Second priority goes to programs serving families under four times the poverty guideline ($109,280 for a family of three in 2026, our calculation) ⁠¹⁵.

Applying for CCAP in Illinois, step by step

1. Run the IDEC calculator

   Enter family size, county and monthly income. It shows whether you are under the 225% limit and which CCR&R serves your county ⁠¹.

2. Gather proof of income and activity

   The application may ask you to verify income, self-employment and school enrollment. All earned income must be documented before CCAP can pay ⁠¹⁰⁠³.

3. Choose a provider first

   Your provider completes part of the application. The digital form sends them a confirmation code so they can respond ⁠¹⁰.

4. Apply through the Digital CCAP Application

   at getchildcareil.org, in English or Spanish, or contact your CCR&R for help ⁠¹⁰⁠¹.

5. Wait for the approval notice

   The CCR&R must enter your application within 10 working days and approve or deny it within 30 working days ⁠⁴. Payment can start on the date you signed the application, or seven days before the date it was received, whichever is later. If care has not started yet, payment begins on the day it does ⁠⁵.

6. Pay your co-payment and report big changes

   Pay the provider named on your notice. Report income above 85% SMI. Return your redetermination before your 12 months end. If it arrives more than 30 days late, it is treated as a new application at the 225% limit ⁠³.

7. Appeal within 60 days

   You can appeal a denial, a cancellation, your co-payment amount or a payment decision within 60 days of the notice date ⁠⁴.

8. Apply for preschool separately

   Contact your school district or a local PFA program. Each program runs its own enrollment and risk-factor screening ⁠¹³⁠¹⁵.

See child care assistance in other states or all Illinois guides.