Maryland child care assistance and pre-K: Child Care Scholarship, waitlist and Tier I pre-K (2026)

The two CCS income scales: 75% SMI to get in, 85% SMI to stay

MSDE publishes two gross annual income tables. The initial scale (75% of state median income) applies to anyone without an active scholarship. The continuation scale (85% SMI) applies when a family that already has a scholarship reapplies or reports a change ⁠¹⁠⁶. Families receiving Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) qualify on income automatically ⁠¹⁠⁷.

Initial scale effective December 15, 2024; continuation scale effective April 22, 2024; both still current on October 20, 2026. The table runs to 12 people ⁠¹.

MSDE raised the entry limit to 75% SMI in May 2022 ⁠⁶. Gross pay is annualized (weekly pay times 52, biweekly times 26). Self-employed applicants subtract a flat 30% for business expenses. Child support you receive counts, averaged over the last three months ⁠⁷.

Who gets a scholarship during the partial enrollment freeze

On May 1, 2025, MSDE stopped issuing scholarships to most new families because the program, which had grown from about 21,000 children in January 2023 to more than 45,000, had hit its budget limit ⁠². You can still apply. If you are approved, you are placed on the Frozen Status List, MSDE’s name for the waitlist ⁠². Nearly 8,000 children were on it at the end of state fiscal year 2026 ⁠⁵.

Two laws signed in May 2026, HB 849 and HB 1321, now set the rules for the list ⁠⁴⁠⁶. These groups skip the waitlist entirely if they meet all other rules:

• Families enrolled in TCA or federal TANF
• A child, parent or caregiver receiving SSI
• A sibling of a child who already has a scholarship
• Children experiencing homelessness (new from July 1, 2026; families already on the list were contacted and given 30 days to send documents) ⁠⁴⁠²

MSDE says these exemptions brought nearly 3,000 children into the program during the first year of the freeze ⁠⁴. Everyone else is released from the list in a priority order fixed by HB 849. First come applicants with the greatest financial need, based on annual household income. Next are applicants who work at least 20 hours a week in a child care program or a public pre-K program that accepts CCS. Then come families enrolling a child under age 3, and finally whoever has waited longest ⁠⁴. MSDE starts with the lowest income group and moves up as funding allows. The child-care-worker priority waits for a new application, estimated for early 2027 ⁠⁴.

Work, school and paperwork rules in COMAR 13A.14.06

You must live in Maryland and be working, in approved training or in school. If both parents live in the home, both must meet the activity rule ⁠¹. Care is tied to the hours of your approved activity; neither MSDE’s program page nor the eligibility regulation sets a statewide minimum number of weekly hours for non-TCA families. Care can cover up to one month before a job or training starts, and gaps of up to one month to look for or accept work ⁠⁷. The child must be under 13, or 13 to 19 with a qualifying disability, and must be a U.S. citizen or qualified alien. Parents do not have to be citizens ⁠¹.

Maryland adds two requirements many states lack. First, children must meet Maryland Department of Health immunization standards, or you must document a medical or religious exemption ⁠⁷. Second, if your child has a parent living elsewhere, you must pursue child support through the local Child Support agency and send proof within 60 days of applying, unless you show good cause, such as a risk of harm ⁠⁸.

What a scholarship pays and what your copay will become

Each scholarship lists the state’s payment for that child, which depends on region, provider type and age, and your copayment. Some providers also charge an “additional fee,” the difference between their price and the scholarship rate, and you owe that too ⁠¹⁠⁵. Families on TCA or SSI pay $0 ⁠¹. So do families in SNAP, WIC, the Housing Choice Voucher program, an education or career training program, or the Youth Transitioning From Foster Placement to Successful Adulthood Program ⁠⁵.

Since May 2022, every other family has paid $1, $2 or $3 a week per child, depending on hours in care ⁠⁵⁠⁶. That changes under HB 1321. In August 2026, the State Board received MSDE’s CCS Sliding Fee Scale Policy, which charges a flat weekly fee per child by income tier ⁠⁵:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

*Our conversion, using the SMI implied by MSDE’s current 75% SMI table ($125,368 for three) and the 2026 HHS poverty guideline ⁠¹⁠¹⁵. Tiers 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 charge $16.12, $30.23, $48.37, $70.54 and $96.74 ⁠⁵. MSDE may update the income thresholds each year.

The second child gets a 10% discount, the third 20%, and so on, up to 50% for the sixth and later children. Part-time care gets a 66% discount (0 to 15 hours a week) or 33% (16 to 29 hours). Total copays can never exceed 7% of family income ⁠⁵. MSDE’s example: two parents earning $70,000 with one child in full-time care would pay $255.45 a month, about 4.4% of income ⁠⁵.

The federal rule that made states cap copays at 7% of income was repealed on May 12, 2026 ⁠¹⁴. Maryland’s 7% cap stays because state law, HB 1321, now requires it ⁠⁶. The new scale starts no sooner than January 1, 2027, after at least 90 days’ notice. New enrollees pay it right away. Current families switch at their 2027 redetermination, and all non-exempt families are on it by the end of 2027 ⁠⁵.

Maryland EXCELS ratings and which providers can take a scholarship

Maryland EXCELS is MSDE’s quality rating system. It rates programs from 1 to 5, and level 5 programs are state or nationally accredited ⁠⁹. Licensed centers and registered family child care homes can take a CCS scholarship only if they participate in EXCELS ⁠¹⁠⁹. An informal scholarship can instead pay a relative caring for the child, or a non-relative caring for the child in the child’s own home ⁠¹.

Free pre-K under the Blueprint: Tier I, Tier II and the September 1 cutoff

Publicly funded pre-K is full-day (6.5 hours), offered in public schools and in private centers, family child care homes and Head Start programs that meet state standards ⁠³⁠¹⁰. Your child must be 3 or 4 on or before September 1 of the school year ⁠¹². Families pay based on tier ⁠¹⁰⁠¹¹:

• Tier I (free): 3- and 4-year-olds whose family income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, or who are homeless. In 2026, 300% FPL is $81,960 for a family of three and $99,000 for a family of four ⁠¹⁵. There is no family share.
• Tier II (sliding family share): 4-year-olds with family income above 300% and up to 600% FPL, starting in fiscal year 2027. The share rises in a straight line from $0 at 300% FPL to the full per-pupil amount at the top, and that amount is $19,950 in FY2027. A county board may pay up to the whole family share ⁠¹¹.
• Tier III: 4-year-olds above 600% FPL receive no state pre-K funding ⁠¹¹.

Each county school system sets its own enrollment procedures. You enroll through its early childhood office, which MSDE lists by county along with the statewide list of private pre-K programs ⁠³. If you qualify for CCS, a scholarship can cover before- and after-care around the pre-K day ⁠¹¹. HB 1321 also requires MSDE to point waitlisted CCS applicants toward pre-K, Head Start and Early Head Start openings in their county ⁠⁶.

Montgomery County’s add-on: Working Parents Assistance

Montgomery County’s Working Parents Assistance Program (WPA) picks up where CCS stops. A family of three qualifies with income from $94,027 to $119,925, and a family of four from $111,937 to $144,675 (chart updated June 30, 2025). Families below the minimum must apply to CCS. Parents must work at least 25 hours a week or study full time, and the provider must be state-licensed. Immigration status is not a requirement ⁠¹³.

Applying through the CCS Family Portal

1. Check your path

   Compare your gross annual income with the 75% SMI table. If you receive TCA, TANF or SSI, are experiencing homelessness, or already have a child with a scholarship, you will not be waitlisted ⁠¹⁠².

2. Gather documents

   You need the four most recent consecutive weeks of pay stubs for every working adult, or an employer letter. Add your school or training schedule on letterhead, proof of address (a lease or utility bill), photo ID for each applicant, and birth certificates or immigration documents for each child ⁠¹⁠⁷.

3. Start child support paperwork if it applies to you

   Contact your local Child Support office and keep the proof. CCS needs it within 60 days ⁠⁸.

4. Apply at family.childcareportals.org

   Register, then submit the application and documents. MSDE’s page still describes a “fast-track” temporary 60-day scholarship. However, HB 1321 repealed the presumptive eligibility law behind it on July 1, 2026, so ask CCS Central 2 whether it still applies to you ⁠¹⁠⁶.

5. Watch your portal

   If you are eligible but not exempt, the portal will show that you were added to the waitlist rather than issued a scholarship ⁠².

6. If you are waitlisted, report changes

   Lower income, homelessness or a new baby can move you up or exempt you. Call 1-877-227-0125 if your situation changes ⁠²⁠⁴.

7. Once awarded, choose an EXCELS provider and sign the scholarship

   It is a signed agreement among you, the provider and the state. Pay your copay directly to the provider ⁠¹.

8. Appeal or renew on time

   Appeal forms are on MSDE’s Scholarship Forms page. Report changes within 10 days, and file your renewal before the scholarship expires so you are not treated as a new, waitlisted applicant ⁠¹⁠²⁠⁷.

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