North Dakota child care assistance and pre-K: CCAP, Bright & Early ND and Best in Class (2026)

One state program, many doors: HHS, the Customer Support Center and zone offices

CCAP helps pay for child care while a parent or caretaker works, goes to school or training, or looks for work ⁠¹. The program pays the provider through a child care certificate. That certificate lists your eligible children, your monthly copay and the level of care for each child ⁠¹⁠⁵. Families can choose a licensed center, group or family provider, a self-declared or tribally registered provider, or an approved relative. A relative must be a grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling who does not live in the child’s home ⁠¹⁠⁴.

Children qualify until the end of the eligibility period in which they turn 13, or up to 19 with special needs or a court order ⁠¹⁠³. Since April 1, 2026, state-licensed providers can bill CCAP only through the month a child turns 12, because of their license age limits. A child must also attend at least 40 hours in a month for CCAP to pay for that month ⁠¹. Family assets cannot exceed $1,000,000 ⁠¹.

The 75% SMI entry limit for October 2026 to September 2027

These are the gross monthly limits HHS posts for October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 ⁠¹:

Yearly figures are the monthly limit times 12. HHS does not post a one-person limit on its CCAP page.

HHS subtracts court-ordered child support and spousal support you pay before comparing your income to the table ⁠³⁠⁵. TANF, LIHEAP heating assistance, tax refunds and earned income credits, children’s earnings, loans and nonrecurring lump sums do not count ⁠⁵.

You are reviewed every 18 months ⁠³. At review, a family whose income has risen above 75% SMI but stays under 85% SMI keeps CCAP for one more 18-month “graduated eligibility” period. Above 85% SMI, the case closes ⁠³⁠⁶.

The December 2025 waitlist: who goes first and who skips it

Enrollment grew faster than the budget. HHS started a waitlist on December 1, 2025 and lowered maximum rates from January 1, 2026 ⁠². Under manual section 400-28-20-10, you must first complete an application and be found eligible. Only then are you placed on the list ⁠³:

• Not waitlisted: families receiving TANF and families in the Crossroads program for parents under 21 ⁠¹⁠³.
• Moved off first: households experiencing homelessness and households at or below 30% SMI ⁠¹⁠³.
• Waitlisted like everyone else: Child Care Workforce Benefit applicants who are not already on CCAP, and former CCAP families who reapply after their case closes ⁠¹.

When funding opens, HHS contacts you, and you have 10 days to respond ⁠¹. If more than 60 days have passed since you were placed on the list, you must re-verify your income and activity. Eligibility starts the first day of the month you come off the list. CCAP does not pay for care you used while waiting ⁠¹⁠³. HHS links a CCAP data dashboard from its program page but does not publish the list length in text ⁠¹.

Allowable activities, and why North Dakota counts hours differently

North Dakota sets no minimum weekly work hours. Allowable activities are paid work or self-employment at least at minimum wage, high school or GED classes, certificate, associate or bachelor’s programs (if you do not already hold a bachelor’s degree), job training, vocational school, and English classes ⁠³⁠⁴. When two caretakers live in the home, CCAP pays only for hours when both are in an activity or otherwise unavailable ⁠⁴⁠⁵.

Hours set the level of care. A child needing 25 or more hours a week gets the full-time level. Fewer than 25 hours is part-time. Once set, the level does not drop during the certificate period even if your hours fall ⁠³. If you are only job searching, you can get up to 15 hours a week. A family that loses all its activities keeps care for three full consecutive months while searching ⁠³. Families experiencing homelessness are approved for four months right away and get 90 days to supply verifications ⁠³.

Copays: none at or below 30% SMI, then a sliding share

NDCC 50-33-07 prohibits any fee for families at or below 30% SMI ⁠⁴. Copays are also waived for TANF, Diversion, Crossroads and ARSEN families and for Workforce Benefit households ⁠³⁠¹. Everyone else pays a monthly copay set by income and family size. The copay is subtracted from the state rate before HHS pays the provider ⁠³.

In its CCDF plan, North Dakota reports a highest copay of 6% of gross income ⁠⁶. Its October 2024 scale shows where copays start and end:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: CCDF State Plan, Amendment 2, section 3.1.2 ⁠⁶. The top incomes are the 85% SMI limit for graduated eligibility. For the current amount, use HHS’s online Worksheet for Calculating Copay, linked from the CCAP page ⁠¹.

The federal rule requiring a 7% copay cap was repealed in May 2026 ⁠¹³. North Dakota’s scale reported in its plan already stays below 7%, so the repeal did not change it ⁠⁶.

January 2026 rate cuts and the balance you may owe

On January 1, 2026, HHS cut its maximum rates. Infant and toddler rates stay at the 75th percentile of the market rate survey. Preschool, school-age and part-time rates dropped to the 50th percentile ⁠². If your provider charges more than the state rate, you owe the difference on top of your copay ⁠¹⁠⁴.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Part-time maximums range from $546 (center infant) down to $181 (relative, school age). For licensed providers, registration fees are covered up to $150 per calendar year ⁠¹.

Bright & Early ND steps and what they mean for parents

Bright & Early ND is HHS’s quality rating and improvement system. Every licensed program starts at Step 1. It can earn Step 2, 3 or 4 by submitting evidence through a three-month “Demonstrating Quality” review with a coach ⁠⁷⁠⁸. Since August 1, 2026, a new six-month “Building Quality” track has helped programs prepare ⁠⁸.

The rating matters to CCAP families in three ways. Step 3 programs get a 5% bonus and Step 4 programs a 10% bonus on top of CCAP payments, paid separately from your child’s bill ⁠²⁠³. A child with a documented disability at a Step 2 or higher provider qualifies for an extra 10% of the state rate ⁠³. Step 2 and higher providers also get a flat $200 per infant and $115 per toddler in their care, including children not on CCAP ⁠²⁠³.

ND Best in Class: the state’s only funded pre-K, with tuition

North Dakota does not fund universal or free pre-K. Schools can run an approved Four-Year-Old Program, but those students are not counted for state school aid ⁠¹². The state’s pre-K investment is ND Best in Class, an HHS grant to selected schools, Head Start programs and Step 3 or 4 child care centers. The 2026-27 cohort is mostly rural public schools, plus centers and YMCA sites in Fargo, Grand Forks and Williston ⁠⁹.

Children must turn 4 before August 1, 2026. A school program can approve a 3-year-old who turns 4 before December 1 ⁠¹⁰. Classrooms run at least 400 hours over 32 weeks, with one adult per 10 children and no more than 20 children ⁠¹⁰. Half the seats are set aside for children at or below 60% SMI or experiencing homelessness, children with an IEP or delay, and children in foster care. Seats are filled by random lottery ⁠¹⁰.

Programs do not have to charge tuition. If they do, it is capped by family income at 3% for 61% to 100% SMI, 5% up to 150% SMI and 7% above that ⁠¹⁰:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Above 150% SMI the cap is $1,040 full-time and $866 part-time. If your child is on CCAP, the CCAP copay applies instead, unless the Best in Class fee is lower ⁠¹¹.

Applying for CCAP through the Self-Service Portal, step by step

1. Check the limit and your activity

   Compare your monthly income, minus any court-ordered support you pay, with the table above. Make sure every caretaker in the home works, studies, trains or is job searching ⁠¹⁠³.

2. Gather documents

   You need photo ID, birth certificates for the children, Social Security numbers (optional), proof of income for last month and this month, and proof of any court-ordered support you pay ⁠¹.

3. Apply

   Apply online in the Self-Service Portal, or turn in a paper SFN 405 at any human service zone office or to the Customer Support Center. You do not need an interview or a chosen provider to apply ⁠¹⁠³.

4. Answer verification requests

   You get at least 10 days to send documents. HHS must decide within 30 days, or 45 with documented extenuating circumstances ⁠³. You can ask for the month before you applied ⁠³⁠⁴.

5. Wait for funding if you are placed on the list

   Report address and income changes. Answer within 10 days when HHS calls you off the list ⁠¹⁠³.

6. Pick a provider and pay your copay

   Your certificate shows the copay and level of care. Pay the copay and any amount above the state rate directly to the provider ⁠¹⁠³.

7. Appeal in writing within 30 days

   Appeal a denial, reduction or closure within 30 days of the notice’s print date. Ask within 10 days to keep benefits during the appeal ⁠¹⁠³⁠⁵.

8. Apply for Best in Class separately

   Ask a participating school or center about its enrollment and lottery dates ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰.

See also cash assistance in North Dakota, other help in North Dakota and child care assistance in other states.