Rhode Island child care assistance and RI Pre-K: Starting RIght CCAP limits and co-shares (2026)

Three ways into CCAP, all through one state agency

The rule gives families three routes into the program ⁠¹:

• RI Works CCAP. For families receiving Rhode Island Works cash assistance, including teen parents in the Teen and Family Development program, whose employment plan includes an approved activity. They pay no family share ⁠¹.
• Income-eligible CCAP. For working families and parents in approved training, apprenticeships or work-readiness programs, with income at or below 261% FPL ⁠¹.
• CCAP for College. For parents in a degree program at a Rhode Island public college or university: CCRI, Rhode Island College or URI ⁠³⁠¹.

Your child must be at least 6 weeks old and under 13. The age limit is under 19 if the child has a documented disability and cannot care for themselves. A child who turns 13 during the certification period stays eligible until age 14 or redetermination, whichever comes first ⁠¹. Only the child needs to be a citizen or qualified immigrant. Qualified immigrant children have no five-year wait, and the parent does not have to prove their own status ⁠¹. Families must also cooperate with the Office of Child Support Services unless they have good cause, and must declare that their assets are under $1,000,000 ⁠¹. Once approved, you are certified for 24 months ⁠¹.

Rhode Island’s 261% entry limit and the 300% ceiling, in dollars

Rhode Island sets its limits as a percentage of the federal poverty level (FPL), not of state median income (SMI). DHS’s co-pay chart took effect February 15, 2026 and uses the 2026 poverty guidelines ⁠²:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Dollar figures are from DHS ⁠². The chart goes up to a family of 15. The SMI column is our own calculation. It uses the state median income behind DHS’s FFY 2026 LIHEAP limits, which are 60% of SMI ($68,253 for three) ⁠¹².

Transitional Child Care is for families already enrolled. If your income rises above 261% FPL, you keep CCAP until it passes 300% FPL. New applicants above 261% are denied ⁠¹⁠³. During your certification period, the only income change you must report is going over 300% FPL ⁠³.

January 1, 2027: the jump to 285% and 325% of poverty

Article 10, Section 6 of the enacted FY 2027 budget raises CCAP entry eligibility from 261% to 285% FPL, starting January 1, 2027. It also raises the exit limit from 300% to 325% FPL. The Assembly added about $2.6 million in federal funds for the change ⁠⁴. At 2026 poverty guidelines, 285% would be about $77,862 a year for three people and $94,050 for four. These figures are our own calculation. DHS had not posted a new chart or amended 218-RICR-20-00-4 by October 20, 2026. Its 2027 chart may use the poverty guidelines HHS publishes in January ⁠¹⁠². If your income is just over today’s limit, apply again in January.

Family share: four co-share levels and Rhode Island’s 7% cap

If your income is above 100% FPL, you pay a “family share” based on gross countable income ⁠¹:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The weekly ranges are from DHS’s 2026 chart ⁠². They match the percentage of annual income divided by 52 weeks (our check).

Here are two examples using our own math. A family of three earning $36,000 is at Level 2 and pays about $35 a week. At $50,000, the same family is at Level 3 and pays about $67 a week ⁠². You pay one family share no matter how many children are in care. It is charged to the provider caring for your youngest child ⁠¹. DHS lowers your share during the 24 months if you report a drop in income, but it does not raise it until you recertify ⁠¹.

Rhode Island’s 7% ceiling comes from its own rule. The federal requirement to cap copayments at 7% of income was repealed by a final rule published May 12, 2026 ⁠¹³. Rhode Island’s amendment effective June 11, 2026 kept the 2%/5%/7% scale ⁠¹.

The 20-hour test, and how college credits count

Each parent in the home must meet the activity requirement on their own. Two parents cannot add their hours together ⁠¹:

• Work: an average of 20 hours a week over a month, at no less than the higher of the state or federal minimum wage ⁠¹.
• Training: 20 hours a week in an approved education or training program ⁠¹.
• College: at least 7 credits a semester. DHS counts each credit as 3 hours, so 7 credits equals 21 hours. With fewer credits, you can combine class hours and paid work to reach 20 ⁠¹.
• Job search: a single 3-month period of job search care in any 24 months, and no more than two such periods per household in a lifetime. Care ends if no job is reported within 3 months ⁠¹.

DHS authorizes care by the hour: full time (30 or more hours a week), three-quarter time (20-29), half time (10-19) or quarter time (under 10) ⁠¹. Under the June 2026 amendment, providers are paid based on enrollment, not daily attendance, and the allowed absence period grew from two weeks to four ⁠¹⁴⁠¹.

Who pays nothing, and why there is no CCAP waiting list

Some families pay no family share: RI Works recipients, families at or below 100% FPL and families who are housing insecure ⁠¹. Housing-insecure applicants also get up to 90 days to provide documents. DHS pays for care during those first 90 days even if the application is later denied ⁠¹. If you are in the Military Reserve and called to active duty, your family’s income and size are frozen at their level before deployment ⁠¹.

The CCAP rule has no waiting list and no priority ranking. DHS’s family page does not mention one either; it tells families to apply and let a specialist decide ⁠¹⁠³.

The CCAP for Child Care Educators and Staff Pilot is a special case. If you work at least 20 hours a week in a DHS-licensed center or family child care home, you can qualify with income up to 300% FPL and pay no family share ⁠⁶⁠⁵. You must apply for regular CCAP first, within the previous 60 days, and include DHS’s decision ⁠⁵⁠⁶. DHS accepts pilot applications through July 31, 2028 ⁠⁵. The FY 2027 budget extends the pilot through July 31, 2030. It also creates a protective services category for children in foster and kinship care and for children of educators in the pilot ⁠⁴.

BrightStars ratings and your CCAP provider

BrightStars is Rhode Island’s quality rating and improvement system. DHS contracts with the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children to run it ⁠⁸. Programs are rated from one to five stars. One star means a program meets the minimum standards to operate. Five stars means it is compliant in all critical licensing areas and far exceeds higher quality standards. A program’s overall rating is its lowest score on any standard ⁠⁷. Every CCAP-approved provider must join BrightStars and keep at least one star. DHS pays weekly rates by provider type, star rating, authorized hours and the child’s age ⁠¹. To compare programs, search earlylearningprograms.dhs.ri.gov or call the BrightStars referral line at (401) 739-6100, ext. 302 ⁠⁷.

RI Pre-K: a lottery for 4-year-olds in 20 communities

RI Pre-K is free for children who turn 4 on or before September 1, are not yet eligible for kindergarten, and live in a community with a program. Your child can only attend in your own city or town ⁠¹⁰⁠¹¹. For 2026-27, the communities were Bristol-Warren, Central Falls, Coventry, Cranston, East Providence, Johnston, Lincoln, Middletown, Newport, North Kingstown, North Providence, Pawtucket, Portsmouth, Providence, Smithfield, Warwick, Westerly, West Warwick and Woonsocket ⁠⁹.

• Schedule: a 6-hour day for 180 days. Part-time attendance and split placements are not allowed ⁠¹¹⁠¹⁰.
• Class size: 18 to 20 children in each classroom ⁠¹⁰.
• Selection: income does not affect eligibility. Programs verify income only so that classrooms reflect their community’s income mix ⁠¹¹.
• Your rights and duties: you can rank up to three programs, but if you are not chosen, your child goes on the waitlist for your first choice only. No transportation is provided. A child with 20 or more unexcused absences may lose the seat ⁠¹⁰⁠¹¹.
• Size: the program had 153 classrooms and 2,812 seats in FY 2026, and the FY 2027 budget keeps $28.9 million to maintain those seats ⁠⁴.

Before- and after-care is not included, but many programs accept CCAP ⁠¹¹. The 2026-27 lottery closed June 22, 2026. Families should now contact programs directly about open seats ⁠⁹⁠¹⁵.

Applying for CCAP through the DHS Customer Portal

1. Check your income against the right chart

   Compare your gross yearly income to the 261% column above. From January 1, 2027, use 285% ⁠²⁠⁴.

2. Confirm your 20 hours

   Gather pay stubs showing hours and hourly pay, a training schedule, or a semester registration showing at least 7 credits at CCRI, RIC or URI ⁠¹.

3. Apply online, by phone or on paper

   Use the DHS Customer Portal at healthyrhode.ri.gov or call 1-855-697-4347. You can also get a paper form from a DHS office ⁠³⁠¹. Families on RI Works can ask to have child care added to their RI Works case ⁠¹.

4. Send missing documents quickly

   Your application date is the day DHS receives the signed form or you submit online. DHS has 30 days to decide, and an incomplete application is denied after 30 days. Housing-insecure families get 90 days ⁠¹.

5. Choose a BrightStars-rated provider

   A provider may enroll your child while your application is pending but does not have to. DHS does not guarantee payment for care while an application is pending, except for housing-insecure families ⁠¹.

6. Read your Notice of Approval

   It shows your family share. The Confirmation of Enrollment tells you which provider to pay ⁠¹.

7. Appeal within 30 days

   You can request a hearing on a denial, a closure or a change in hours or family share. DHS must give at least 10 days’ notice before an adverse change takes effect ⁠¹.

8. Recertify before 24 months end

   Report income over 300% FPL (325% from 2027), a child leaving the home or a move out of state. A move within Rhode Island does not affect your benefits ⁠³⁠⁴.

See child care assistance in other states or other programs in Rhode Island.