Vermont child care assistance and free pre-K: CCFAP, STARS and Act 166 UPK (2026)

How CCFAP splits work between CDD and the regional support agencies

To qualify, your family must have an accepted reason for needing care, use regulated care (a licensed center, a registered or licensed family child care home, or an afterschool program), meet the income guidelines, live in Vermont and have less than $1 million in assets ⁠¹. Children can be from 6 weeks to 13 years old, or up to 19 with special needs ⁠⁸. Income limits are statewide, so no region sets its own ⁠⁴.

Each agency covers one region. The agencies are Mary Johnson Children’s Center (Addison), Sunrise Family Resource Center (Bennington), Child Care Resource (Chittenden), Family Center of Northwestern Counseling & Support Services (Franklin/Grand Isle), Lamoille Family Center, The Family Place (Orange/North Windsor), Vermont Achievement Center (Rutland), Family Center of Washington County, Winston Prouty (Windham) and Springfield Area Parent Child Center (South Windsor/North Windham). Kingdom Child Care Connection at Umbrella runs both Northeast Kingdom offices, in St. Johnsbury and Newport ⁠⁷.

CCFAP is a payment to the provider, not cash to you. CDD pays your program the CCFAP state rate minus your weekly family share, and you pay the family share to the provider ⁠⁸⁠¹. Vermont lets providers charge more than the state rate. When a provider does, the CCDF plan says the extra averaged $59 a week ⁠⁴.

Vermont’s 575% ceiling and the 85% state median income line

Vermont sets CCFAP eligibility by poverty level, not by state median income (SMI). The income limits table above uses one column for all families of three or fewer, so a single parent with one child has the same $13,091 monthly ceiling as a family of three ⁠². If the federal poverty guidelines ever go down, the statute requires CDD to keep the previous year’s figures ⁠³.

Federal CCDF money can only pay for families up to 85% of SMI. In its approved CCDF plan, Vermont certifies that it uses non-CCDF (state) funds for families above that line ⁠⁴. To close the gap between the cost and the price of care, the legislature added state funding that includes a new child care payroll tax ⁠⁴. The table below compares the CCFAP ceiling with the federal FY2027 SMI estimates.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

SMI from the federal LIHEAP FY2027 table ($135,326 a year for a family of four) ⁠⁹. The monthly 85% figures and the percentages are our calculations. CDD does not publish them.

Gross income counts from almost every source. Vermont leaves out tax refunds (including the Earned Income Credit and Renter Rebate), 3SquaresVT, Reach Up and other public assistance, SSI, and student loans, grants and work-study ⁠⁴. Under the statute, residents whose citizenship status would otherwise bar them from CCFAP are served with state-only funds. DCF may not ask about the citizenship status of other family members ⁠³.

The weekly family share, from $0 to $425

The family share is a flat weekly dollar amount for the whole family. It does not depend on how many children are in care or which provider you choose. Families at or below 175% of poverty pay nothing ⁠³⁠⁴. Above that, the share rises by $25 for each 25-point FPL band ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The intermediate bands (225%, 250%, and so on) add $25 a week each ⁠².

As a share of income, this scale can go beyond 7%. A family of three at the top of the 400% band pays $250 a week, or about $1,075 a month, which is 11.8% of $9,107 (our calculation, using the plan’s 4.3 weeks per month). At the 575% ceiling, the figure is about 14%. Vermont’s own CCDF plan reported a maximum co-payment of 12.4% of income under the April 2024 scale ⁠⁴. The federal rule that capped co-payments at 7% was rescinded by a final rule published May 12, 2026 and effective July 13, 2026. As a result, no federal 7% ceiling applies, and Vermont’s statute sets only the 175% zero-share line, not a percentage cap ⁠¹⁰⁠³.

Service needs: one hour of activity counts

Each primary caretaker in the home needs an accepted service need. Accepted needs are a job, self-employment, actively looking for work, school or training, Reach Up activities, or a special health need that keeps the parent from caring for the child. A family also qualifies if the child has significant health or developmental needs, or has an open Family Services Division case with child care in the safety plan ⁠⁵. Vermont sets a minimum of just one hour of work, training or education. Travel time counts, and so does study time for students ⁠⁴.

A job search can be authorized for up to 12 weeks (three months). At the first application, you are denied if both caretakers list job search as their reason. During a 12-month eligibility period, both parents can use it if both lose their jobs ⁠⁴⁠³. Eligibility lasts 12 months. If you lose a job permanently mid-year and report it within 10 days, the agency sends a Seeking Employment form to return within 10 days. Your case then switches to job search with that job’s income removed, and your share can drop but not rise ⁠⁴.

Who skips the wait, or pays no share

In its CCDF plan, Vermont commits to serving several groups without putting them on a waiting list: children with special needs, families at or below 175% of poverty, children experiencing homelessness, and Reach Up families ⁠⁴. DCF’s CCFAP pages describe no current waiting list ⁠¹.

• Reach Up families can have child care authorized by their case manager without a separate application, and they pay no family share ⁠¹⁠⁴.
• Family Support Child Care serves families under significant short-term stress, for example with shelter, safety, substance use, children’s behavior or parenting. The family goes through a structured interview, a Children’s Integrated Services team review and a scoring rubric. The usual service-need test is waived ⁠⁴⁠⁵.
• Adoption Assistance Agreement children and guardians on a Reach Up Child Only grant are exempt from the income guidelines ⁠¹. Adoption Assistance families also pay no family share ⁠⁴.
• Children in state custody: CCFAP pays the full provider rate ⁠⁴.
• Homeless and foster children get up to six months to catch up on immunization records ⁠⁴.

STARS: what the levels mean for choosing a provider

The STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) is Vermont’s quality rating system. Every registered or licensed program in good standing is Level 1. Moving up to Levels 2 through 5 is voluntary, and a certificate lasts three years, with annual updates ⁠¹⁴⁠¹¹. The ratings cover three areas: adult-child interactions (measured with the CLASS observation tool), family engagement (based on the Strengthening Families protective factors) and responsive practices ⁠¹⁴. In 2024-25, 52% of programs offering publicly funded pre-K were rated Level 5 ⁠¹⁴.

For CCFAP families, a provider’s STARS level changes quality, not cost. The CCDF plan says Vermont no longer ties payment amounts to a tiered rating. It sets one higher state rate for all programs ⁠⁴. The STARS rule still lets DCF pay quality factor amounts and one-time incentives when funds allow ⁠¹¹. You can look up a program’s STARS level, accreditation and regulatory history on the Bright Futures website or the CDD provider map ⁠¹².

Universal Prekindergarten: 10 free hours under Act 166

Since fall 2016, every Vermont school district must offer publicly funded pre-K. Children who are 3, 4 or 5 by the district’s kindergarten eligibility date and are not yet in kindergarten are eligible ⁠¹⁴. Each district sets its own cutoff date, so ask yours ⁠¹³. There is no income test. The benefit is 10 hours a week for 35 weeks at no cost to you. If your child attends longer, you pay tuition for the extra time, so ask a community program to put your costs in writing ⁠¹³.

Programs can be in public schools or in prequalified private centers and family child care homes. Private UPK programs must hold STARS Level 4 or 5, or Level 3 with a plan to reach 4 within a year ⁠¹⁴. When the program is not run by your home district, the district pays a set tuition. That rate was $3,884 for 2024-25 ⁠¹⁴. In 2024-25, 387 providers (235 private, 152 public) served 8,146 pre-K students. In 2023-24, 58% of Vermont 3-year-olds and 76% of 4-year-olds were enrolled ⁠¹⁴. An Act 76 implementation committee recommended keeping the 10-hour benefit and expanding hours for 4-year-olds. The May 2026 report describes those as recommendations, not enacted changes ⁠¹⁴.

Applying through the CDDIS Parent Portal or a support agency

1. Screen yourself

   Use DCF’s online eligibility screener and compare your gross monthly income to the March 22, 2026 table ⁠¹⁠².

2. Choose online or paper

   Apply in the CDDIS Parent Portal (Chrome on a computer works best, and multi-factor authentication is required). Or take the paper application to your regional support agency in person or by mail ⁠¹⁠⁷. If you are on Reach Up, ask your case manager first ⁠¹.

3. Gather proof

   You will need proof of your service need (pay stubs, a school schedule or a self-employment record) and of household income. Upload these in the portal or give them to the agency ⁠¹.

4. Pick a regulated provider

   Agency referral specialists can help you find an opening, and the CDD provider map shows STARS levels ⁠¹⁠¹².

5. Watch for the decision

   Under their contracts, agencies must start 80% of applications within seven business days and decide or close 80% within 30 days ⁠⁴. Assistance can be backdated to the day the agency received your complete application ⁠¹. Your approval notice lists the hours authorized, the period and your family share ⁠¹.

6. Appeal in writing if you disagree

   Within 30 days of a decision, send a written appeal to CDD. If its Subsidy Unit upholds the decision, you can request a Human Services Board fair hearing within 30 days. Your subsidy continues during an appeal unless eligibility was denied ⁠⁶.

7. Enroll in pre-K separately

   Contact your school district. For a private UPK program, enroll with both the provider and the district so the tuition is paid ⁠¹³.

Compare child care assistance in other states or see more help in Vermont.