Tennessee child care assistance: Smart Steps, the Certificate Program and Voluntary Pre-K (2026)

Smart Steps, the Certificate Program and VPK: who runs what in Tennessee

The Child Care Certificate Program is the umbrella for all TDHS child care payments. TDHS sets the reimbursement rates and pays your chosen provider directly. Parents do not receive cash ⁠². Different categories feed into it ⁠²⁠¹:

• Smart Steps covers income-eligible parents who work or attend post-secondary school, for children from 6 weeks old until kindergarten. You do not need to receive any other TDHS benefit ⁠².
• Families First child care supports activities on a Families First (TANF) Personal Responsibility Plan. TDHS Family Assistance staff decide eligibility ⁠².
• Transitional Child Care lasts up to 18 months after Families First cash assistance closes. Parents need 30 hours a week of paid work, education or training ⁠²⁠¹.
• At-Risk Child Only serves relative caregivers, such as grandparents, aunts or uncles, in Families First child-only cases. They must work or attend school 30 hours a week ⁠².
• Teen Parent Child Care serves parents aged 13 to 19 who attend middle or high school. A note from school staff is enough to verify enrollment ⁠¹⁠².
• SNAP Employment and Training child care covers parents in SNAP E&T through the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development ⁠².
• DCS child care covers foster care, adoption assistance and non-state custody cases. Regional Department of Children’s Services staff make the referrals, and TDHS issues the certificate and pays the provider ⁠²⁠⁴.

Parents in Families First, Transitional or At-Risk Child Only care may also choose an approved individual caregiver who passes a background check and health and safety training ⁠².

The Smart Steps waitlist that began August 26, 2025

TDHS says the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) discretionary award to Tennessee fell by about $44.5 million for fiscal year 2025. COVID-19 relief money had ended on September 30, 2024 ⁠⁴. The department responded by putting new Smart Steps applicants on a waitlist starting August 26, 2025 ⁠⁴.

Families already in Smart Steps on that date stay enrolled through the end of their 12-month eligibility period and can renew if they still qualify ⁠⁴. The waitlist does not apply to Families First and SNAP E&T participants, Transitional Child Care, At-Risk Child Only, Teen Parent families or DCS referrals. Eligible families in those groups can still enroll ⁠⁴.

The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, a state agency, reports that 9,546 families with 13,835 children were on the Smart Steps waitlist as of June 2, 2026. It notes that TDHS checks eligibility only when a child comes off the list ⁠⁵. TDHS publishes no expected wait time.

Tennessee’s 85% SMI line and the Smart Steps Plus band

TDHS uses one statewide income test. Countable gross monthly household income must be below 85% of Tennessee’s state median income (SMI) ⁠³. The chart below took effect October 1, 2025. It is based on federal FFY 2026 SMI estimates and was still the chart linked from the Certificate Program page in October 2026 ⁠³⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Annual = monthly limit x 12. The chart runs to 12 people ($10,915 a month at 85% SMI) and lists no one-person household ⁠³.

The 100% column applies only at renewal: since October 1, 2025, enrolled families can move into Smart Steps Plus when they renew, if their income is between 86% and 100% of SMI or a new spouse has joined the household. They still pay the 5% co-pay ⁠³. A new applicant above 85% SMI does not qualify.

The 5% weekly co-pay formula, worked out

Since October 1, 2025, every approved family pays a co-pay; the earlier waiver for families below 150% of the federal poverty level ended. The exceptions are Families First, Early Head Start partnership, mental health and substance abuse service cases, and DCS cases, which still pay nothing ⁠⁴. The formula works like this: take 5% of countable monthly gross income and round down to whole dollars. Divide by 4.3 to get a weekly amount and round down again. If more than one child is in care, the total is split equally among them ⁠³.

Calculated with the formula on TDHS’s October 1, 2025 chart ⁠³. TDHS’s own example is $1,895 a month, which gives $21 a week, or $10.50 for each of two children.

The co-pay is not always the whole bill. If a provider charges more than the state rate, you pay the difference (an “overage”) directly to the provider. The provider should tell you this in writing at enrollment. Late pickup, activity, field trip and supply fees are also your responsibility ⁠³. As an example, the January 2026 weekly state rate for full-time preschool care in a center is $208 in “top tier” counties such as Davidson, Knox, Shelby and Hamilton, and $148 in other counties ⁠⁶. TDHS adds 15% to the rate for infants and for children with disabilities ⁠⁶⁠⁴. A provider can stop serving your child if you miss co-pay payments ⁠¹.

The federal rule that capped CCDF co-pays at 7% of income was repealed on May 12, 2026 ⁠¹¹. Tennessee’s flat 5% rate is already below that level, and the chart TDHS links in October 2026 still sets 5% ⁠³⁠².

Thirty hours a week: what counts toward Smart Steps

Smart Steps parents must average at least 30 hours a week of paid work, undergraduate post-secondary education, or a mix of both. Graduate courses can count for up to 6 of those hours ⁠¹. While you are enrolled, you must report changes in income, job, school or household within 10 days ⁠¹.

Benefits are renewed every 12 months in the One DHS portal. If you are not meeting the hours requirement at renewal, TDHS may place your case in a 90-day compliance period. Benefits continue during those 90 days, but they end if you do not send work or school verification by the due date ⁠¹.

Reading a QRIS score card and the bonus it earns a provider

TDHS’s current rating system, the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), is built into its Child Care Report Card System. Every TDHS-licensed child care center and group home is scored on two areas, Health and Safety and Teacher-Child Interactions. Each of four quarterly visits is scored out of 100, and the four scores are averaged into the annual score. Providers must post the score card with their license where parents can see it. A new agency is scored only after it has been open for one year ⁠⁷.

Scores also affect what a provider is paid. From January 1, 2026, a TDHS-licensed provider scoring 80-89 gets the state rate plus a 5% bonus. A score of 90-100 earns a 10% bonus. For full-time preschool care at a top-tier-county center, that means $218 or $229 a week instead of $208 ⁠⁶. TDHS licenses more than 2,000 agencies. Its online locator lets you filter for providers that accept child care assistance ⁠¹²⁠¹.

Voluntary Pre-K: free seats for at-risk 4-year-olds, run by school districts

Under Tennessee Code Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 1, TDOE grants fund district-run classrooms in schools or in contracted community child care and Head Start programs. Those community partners must hold the highest rating under the TDHS rated licensing system ⁠⁹. VPK is not universal. Districts must first enroll “at-risk” children who are 4 on or before August 15 ⁠⁹. A child counts as at-risk if:

• the family’s income qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, or
• the child’s parent was killed or died of war injuries, or was officially reported as a prisoner of war or missing in action ⁠⁹.

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185% of the 2026 federal poverty guidelines. Add $10,508 for each additional member ⁠¹⁰.

After the 30th full day of school, a district that has enrolled all at-risk children may fill open seats with other 4-year-olds. It may also take 3-year-olds who have been in the Tennessee Early Intervention System, are identified as educationally at risk, or meet the meal income limit. Children of district employees who live outside the district are also eligible. Five-year-olds cannot enroll ⁠⁹.

Classes follow the K-12 180-day calendar, run at least 6 hours a day, and have no more than 20 children with one adult for every 10 ⁠⁹. VPK is free. Districts may not ask families for money, supplies, snack or field trip fees, or fundraising. Care beyond the 6-hour day may cost extra ⁠⁹. To enroll, contact your school district’s pre-K office. Each district sets its own registration dates. If you need care beyond the 6-hour day, the district must help you find quality extended-day care, either its own or through a partner agency ⁠⁹.

Getting on the list through the One DHS Customer Portal

1. Check your category first

   Families First, SNAP E&T, Transitional, At-Risk Child Only, Teen Parent and DCS cases bypass the Smart Steps waitlist. Ask your caseworker about child care ⁠⁴⁠².

2. Compare your income with the chart

   Use gross monthly household income and the 85% SMI column above. Then confirm you average 30 hours a week of work or undergraduate study ⁠³⁠¹.

3. Create a One DHS Customer Portal account

   At onedhs.tn.gov, complete the Child Care Payment Assistance application. Or send paper form HS-3408 to a local TDHS office by fax or mail, or drop it off ⁠¹.

4. Upload every document

   You need proof of income, residency, work, school or training, plus identification and your child’s information. TDHS will not review an incomplete application and handles applications in the order received ⁠¹.

5. Expect a waitlist placement for Smart Steps

   TDHS checks your eligibility when your child’s turn comes. Keep your email and phone number current in the portal ⁠⁴⁠⁵.

6. Choose a provider and pay the co-pay

   Once approved, find a provider in the Find Child Care locator. Pay your weekly co-pay, and any overage, directly to the provider ⁠¹⁠³.

7. Report changes and renew

   Report changes within 10 days. Renew every 12 months under My Benefits in the portal. Do not open a second account ⁠¹.

8. Appeal a denial or reduction

   File in the One DHS portal, or send form HS-3058-F to the Appeals Clerk’s Office, 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, TN 37243. You can also email [email protected] or fax (866) 355-6136. For questions, call 1-833-772-8347 ⁠⁸⁠¹.

Compare Smart Steps with child care assistance in other states or see other help in Tennessee.