Oregon child care assistance and free preschool: ERDC, Spark and Preschool Promise (2026)

How DELC and ODHS split the work on ERDC

DELC sets eligibility rules, pays providers through its Direct Pay Unit and keeps the waitlist. ODHS staff take applications, hold the required interview and decide eligibility ⁠¹⁠²⁠⁷. ERDC pays the provider, not the parent ⁠¹.

To qualify, you must live in Oregon and need care for a child under 13. A child aged 13 to 17 can qualify in special circumstances ⁠¹. Your provider must be approved by DELC to receive ERDC payments, and that is a separate step from being licensed. A grandparent, friend or neighbor can be approved and paid ⁠¹. You must also show the child’s immunization records or an exemption ⁠¹.

Oregon’s two income limits: 200% FPL to get in, a higher bar to stay

Oregon uses two different limits. At application, gross monthly income must be under 200% of the federal poverty level. During your 12-month certification and at renewal, the limit rises to 250% FPL or 85% of state median income (SMI), whichever is higher ⁠¹⁠⁸. Both sets of figures took effect March 1, 2026 ⁠¹.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Dollar limits are from DELC ⁠¹. SMI shares are calculated from the monthly SMI figures in Oregon’s approved CCDF plan ($6,971.53 for 2 people up to $11,892.61 for 5). The exit limits on DELC’s page equal exactly 85% of those figures ⁠⁸. The plan does not list SMI for 6 or more people.

Family assets must not exceed $1,000,000 ⁠⁸. Each certification lasts at least 12 months, and ERDC continues through that period even if a parent stops working or studying for good ⁠⁸. A raise does not end benefits as long as income stays under the exit limit ⁠¹.

The ERDC waitlist since November 2023, and who can skip it

DELC opened the waitlist in November 2023 after thousands of families joined ERDC in July and August of that year ⁠¹. Families already getting ERDC are not affected as long as they stay eligible and renew on time ⁠¹.

A new applicant skips the waitlist only by meeting both of these conditions ⁠¹⁠⁴:

• Self-reported monthly income at or below 200% FPL, and
• At least one exemption: the family got TANF, Refugee or State Family Pre-SSI cash, or Temporary Assistance for Domestic Violence Survivors (TA-DVS), in the current month or any of the previous three; ODHS Child Welfare has referred the family to prevent removal, return a child home or support a relative placement; the family is reapplying after a break in ERDC of two calendar months or less; or the child is placed in a contracted Baby Promise, Head Start or Early Head Start Child Care Partnership slot.

Everyone else receives a notice with a waitlist number and appeal rights ⁠¹. Each month DELC estimates how much money is available and invites families off the list first in, first out. You then have 45 days from the date on the letter to request benefits, or you lose your place ⁠⁴. Once a year DELC asks families on the list whether they want to stay on it, and you must answer ⁠¹. Being on the list does not guarantee a slot, and your number does not change as others move off ⁠¹.

An amendment presented to the Early Learning Council in April 2026, set to take effect June 1, 2026, would let DELC turn individual exemptions on or off to keep ERDC within budget ⁠⁹. In October 2026, DELC’s ERDC page still listed all four exemption groups ⁠¹.

Flat-dollar copays from $0 to $130

Oregon charges one copay per family, not per child. It is set by income tier, and families under 100% FPL pay $0 ⁠⁸. Under 2021’s House Bill 3073, Oregon law limits copays to 7% of income ⁠⁸. That makes the May 2026 federal repeal of the national 7% cap irrelevant to ERDC families, and the actual copays are far lower than 7%.

Source: DELC copay charts ⁠². The top copay is $100 for a family of 2 and $130 for families of 5 to 8 or more.

The two highest tiers start at or above the 200% FPL entry limit. A new family therefore pays at most $15 (three people) or $20 (four people). The higher copays apply only after income rises while enrolled ⁠²⁠¹. Copays are waived for TANF families, after a permanent job loss (for the rest of the certification period), during approved medical leave, and for up to six months after a parent returns from military service in a war zone ⁠⁵⁠⁸. If you do not pay your copay, you lose eligibility. Get a receipt from your provider ⁠².

DELC pays only up to its maximum rate, and you owe any difference on top of your copay ⁠¹. For full-time care in Area A (Portland, Bend, Eugene, Corvallis, Monmouth and Ashland), certified centers can be paid up to $2,083 a month for an infant and $1,563 for a preschooler. In Areas B and C, the infant maximum is $1,500 ⁠³.

Work, school or medical leave: what ERDC pays for

Every caretaker in the household must have a qualifying activity. That means paid work (including self-employment or work-study), coursework toward a certificate or degree at a school approved for federal financial aid, or medical leave from a job or school. High school or GED classes count only for parents aged 20 or younger ⁠⁵. In a two-parent home, both parents need a qualifying activity. The exceptions are a parent who cannot provide care because of a medical or mental health condition, or a case where the state requires supervised contact ⁠¹⁠⁵. Oregon sets no minimum number of work hours. Job search does not count as a qualifying activity when you apply ⁠⁸.

Authorized hours follow your schedule ⁠⁵:

• 20 hours a week if you need 20 or fewer; 40 if you need 21 to 40; up to 75 if you need more.
• Students get 5 more hours a week for study (10 if in class 12 or more hours).
• Another 25% is added for travel, and the weekly total is multiplied by 4.3 to get monthly hours.

Night-shift workers can get care for sleep hours ⁠¹.

Spark stars and Baby Promise slots

Spark is Oregon’s Quality Recognition and Improvement System. It was created in 2013 and rates programs at 3, 4 or 5 stars after a portfolio review ⁠¹⁵. For each child on full-time ERDC, providers rated 3, 4 or 5 stars receive an extra $54, $72 or $90 a month ⁠⁸. Spark has been under redesign since spring 2023, so its criteria may change ⁠¹⁵.

Baby Promise uses federal CCDF money to hold contracted infant and toddler slots (6 weeks to 3 years). These slots have no copay or program fees and include free diapers, wipes and formula. They are available in Multnomah, Crook, Jefferson, Deschutes, Coos and Curry counties and in Reedsport. Families must be ERDC-eligible but skip the waitlist. You enroll through your regional Child Care Resource and Referral program ⁠¹⁰.

Free preschool: Preschool Promise, OPK and Preschool for All

Oregon has no statewide universal pre-K. Its free programs are mostly income-based:

• Preschool Promise is free for families at or below 200% FPL. In 2026 that is the same $4,554 a month for three people used for ERDC ⁠¹¹⁠¹. Families who spend more than 30% of income on housing can have the excess subtracted from income. Children in foster care qualify, and families above 200% FPL can in some designated areas with little access to care ⁠¹². Classes run at least six hours a day, four days a week and 900 hours a year ⁠¹¹. A child must be at least 3 but not yet eligible for kindergarten by the district’s cutoff, usually September 1. Children can attend for up to two years ⁠¹². Enrollment is not first-come, first-served. Each Early Learning Hub selects children by its own criteria, for example a lottery or points ⁠¹².
• Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten (OPK) is Oregon’s state-funded program built on the Head Start model. It serves pregnant parents and children up to kindergarten in families at or below 100% FPL. Children in foster care, families experiencing homelessness and families on SNAP or TANF qualify regardless of income ⁠¹³. Thirty grantees run it at more than 300 sites in every county, and DELC reports 14,581 children and families served each year ⁠¹³.
• Preschool for All is funded by Multnomah County. It is free for any child who is 3 or 4 on September 1 and has a parent or guardian living in the county, with no income test. The county says seats are still available for 2026-27 ⁠¹⁴.

Applying for ERDC through ONE and keeping your place

1. Check the entry limit and your exemption

   Compare your gross monthly income to the 200% FPL column above. If you are on TANF or TA-DVS, working with Child Welfare, or returning after a short break, say so at the start ⁠¹⁠⁴.

2. Apply through ODHS

   Use a ONE Online account, call 800-699-9075 (Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific), or visit an ODHS office. Text “children” to 898211 or call 211 for help ⁠¹.

3. Complete the interview and send verification

   Pay stubs and the other items on the ONE document checklist are required. You find out during this process whether you join or skip the waitlist ⁠¹.

4. Use priority processing if it applies

   Families experiencing homelessness, and those needing care for a current foster child, can get up to three months of benefits based on their own statement, without an interview, while verification is pending ⁠⁸.

5. If you are waitlisted, stay reachable

   Answer the yearly check-in. If your situation changes so that you meet an exemption, reapply. When you are invited, request benefits within 45 days ⁠¹⁠⁴.

6. Choose an approved provider and pay your copay

   Confirm the provider is approved for ERDC before care starts. Pay the copay to the provider every month ⁠¹⁠².

7. Renew on time

   ODHS must receive your reapplication by the 10th day of the last month of your certification. A late form is treated as a new application ⁠⁶. After a break of more than two months you face the waitlist again ⁠⁴.

8. Appeal a denial, reduction or closure

   Send form DHS 443 so ODHS receives it within 45 days of the notice. To keep benefits during the appeal, file by the 10th day after the notice or by the effective date of the action, whichever is later ⁠⁷.

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