Washington child care assistance and pre-K: Working Connections, ECEAP and TK (2026)

What changed in Working Connections on October 1, 2026

Two laws changed the program this year. ESSB 5752 (2025) rewrote the copay schedule starting October 1, 2026. It also repealed the special eligibility routes for child care employees and registered apprentices as of July 1, 2025 ⁠⁶. SHB 2689 (2026) removed the scheduled increases in the income limit to 75% of state median income (SMI) in 2029 and 85% in 2031. Entry eligibility therefore stays at 60% of SMI ⁠⁷⁠³. The final bill also moved provider billing to attendance-based payment, starting with centers in October 2026 ⁠³⁠⁷.

DCYF updates SMI every October, so new applicants and families reapplying from October 1, 2026 face both new income bands and new copays ⁠³.

The 60%, 65% and 85% lines in DCYF’s income chart

Washington uses three income thresholds. Your countable income must be at or below 60% of SMI when you first apply. When you reapply after 12 months, the limit is 65% ⁠⁵. While you are inside a 12-month authorization, your income can rise as high as 85% of SMI before DCYF reviews your case ⁠².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: DCYF copay calculation table, revised September 8, 2026 ⁠². DCYF’s chart continues up to a family of 20.

Several groups do not need to meet these limits. If you get Basic Food (SNAP), state law counts you as income-eligible, and your copay is still set by your income ⁠⁷⁠⁵. Parents in high school, and parents age 21 or younger working toward a high school equivalency certificate, qualify up to 85% of SMI and pay no copay ⁠⁵. You also need assets of no more than $1,000,000 and a child under 13, or under 19 with a verified special need or court supervision ⁠⁵. DCYF may not consider a child’s citizenship status ⁠⁷.

Flat copays set from a two-person household

Under RCW 43.216.804, every copay band is calculated from the SMI for a household of two. For example, the second band is 5% of 25% of two-person SMI. The result is a flat dollar amount that is the same for every family size ⁠⁴. The family size you report decides which income band you fall into, but not how much the copay is.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: DCYF copay table ⁠² and RCW 43.216.804(3) ⁠⁴. The $297 copay also applies to reapplicants between 60% and 65% of SMI.

Families who were already authorized on October 1, 2026 keep the earlier schedule until they reapply ⁠⁴. That schedule was $0 at or below 20% of SMI, then $65, $90 and $165 up to 60%, and $215 for reapplicants up to 65% ⁠⁴⁠⁵. Copays are not prorated for partial months ⁠⁵. A licensed, certified or license-exempt provider may not charge you the difference between its private rate and the state’s maximum rate ⁠⁵.

Federal rules capped CCDF copays at 7% of family income until HHS repealed that requirement in a final rule published May 12, 2026, effective July 13, 2026 ⁠⁸. Washington’s copay amounts come from state law, not from the federal cap. By our calculation from DCYF’s chart, a family of two or more never pays more than about 6.5% of income. That maximum comes at the bottom of the $297 band, for example $297 on $4,576 a month for two people. Only the one-person row can go above 7% ⁠²⁠⁴.

Work, school and the 110-hour full-time line

Approved activities for parents not in WorkFirst include employment, self-employment, SNAP Employment and Training, and having a child enrolled in Early ECEAP (birth to three) or Early Head Start. Several education options also count ⁠⁵:

• Full-time students at a community, technical or tribal college in a vocational or associate degree program. No work hours are required ⁠⁵⁠¹.
• Part-time students in vocational education, adult basic education, ESL, or GED classes (age 22 and older). You must also average at least 20 hours of work a week or 16 hours of work-study ⁠⁵.
• High school or GED for parents under 22 ⁠⁵.

DCYF authorizes care around your schedule. It can also pay for travel time, up to 10 hours a week of study time and up to 8 hours of sleep before or after a night shift ⁠⁵. If your activities total at least 110 hours a month, a center can be paid for 23 full-day units a month. In a two-parent home, care is authorized only for the hours when both parents are working or in an approved activity at the same time ⁠⁵. WorkFirst (TANF) parents qualify through the activities in their individual responsibility plan, up to 16 hours a day ⁠⁵.

Who is served first, and who pays nothing

DCYF’s WCCC page does not mention a waitlist ⁠¹. The final SHB 2689 also contains no caseload cap ⁠⁷. The rules still allow DCYF to run the program “to the extent of available funds.” If money runs short, WAC 110-15-2210 serves these groups first, in this order ⁠⁵:

1. Families applying for or receiving TANF, including those curing a sanction
2. Foster children
3. Families with a child with special needs
4. Teen parents under 22 who are not living with a parent and attend a high school with an on-site child care center
5. Families referred for child care after child protective services, child welfare services or a family assessment response in the past six months
6. Reapplicants who received subsidy within the last 30 days and have income at or below 60% of SMI

Everyone else would be placed on a list in order of application date. Anyone still waiting after 12 months would need a new eligibility determination ⁠⁵.

Three groups get free care. Families experiencing homelessness can get the Homeless Grace Period if their income is under 85% of SMI. It gives 12 months of full-time care with no copay ⁠⁵⁠¹. Families referred through child protective services, child welfare, family assessment response or a therapeutic court get 12 months of full-time care with no copay, regardless of activity ⁠⁵. Teen parents in school pay no copay ⁠⁵.

Early Achievers ratings and how to read them

Early Achievers is Washington’s quality rating and improvement system. Providers at Levels 1 and 2 are taking part in training and quality activities. Levels 3 to 5 mean the program has earned a quality rating through an on-site evaluation ⁠¹⁰. Families pay nothing extra to use a rated program ⁠¹⁰. A new licensed provider caring for children under school age who accepts WCCC must enroll within 30 days of its first subsidy payment. It must then finish Level 2 within 12 months and be rated Level 3 or higher within 30 months, or lose subsidy eligibility ⁠¹¹. DCYF pays tiered reimbursement to WCCC providers rated at Levels 3, 4 and 5 ⁠¹¹. DCYF’s Child Care Check tool shows each provider’s rating, license history and whether it accepts subsidy.

ECEAP and Transition to Kindergarten: two different pre-K doors

ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program) is free state pre-K for children who are 3 or 4. For 2026-27, 4-year-olds must be born between September 1, 2021 and August 31, 2022, and 3-year-olds between September 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023 ⁠¹³. The main income test is 36% of SMI. Tribal families qualify up to 100% of SMI ⁠¹²⁠¹³. Children also qualify through homelessness, special education eligibility or an IEP, earlier participation in ESIT, ECLIPSE, Head Start or Early ECEAP, or other qualifying factors such as child welfare involvement ⁠¹². Classes run 2.5 to 10 hours a day, four or five days a week ⁠¹².

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: DCYF ECEAP income chart ⁠¹³. Children between 36% and 50% of SMI are enrolled only as space allows and must have a risk factor; they may make up no more than 25% of statewide enrollment ⁠⁶.

ECEAP is not yet an entitlement. ESSB 5752 moved full statewide implementation, when every eligible child is entitled to a seat, from 2026-27 to the 2030-31 school year ⁠⁶. Until then, children are enrolled as local space allows ⁠¹².

Transition to Kindergarten is a separate program run by school districts. It is for children who are at least 4 by August 31 and whom the district’s screening finds need extra preparation for kindergarten ⁠¹⁵⁠¹⁴. It is not an entitlement. Districts may charge a sliding fee. They may not charge children with disabilities who are entitled to a free education, or children who are eligible for ECEAP or Head Start but have no seat ⁠¹⁵. State funding is capped at 7,266 full-time equivalent students for 2025-26 and 2026-27, and no new district programs may open before 2027-28 ⁠¹⁴.

Applying for WCCC through Washington Connection

1. Check the two tests

   Compare your gross monthly income with the 60% column above. Confirm that each parent in the home works, attends approved school or is in WorkFirst or SNAP E&T ⁠²⁠⁵.

2. Apply without waiting for a provider

   Use the online application on Washington Connection, call 844-626-8687 (help in several languages), or pick up a paper application at a DSHS Community Services Office. You do not need to have chosen a provider before you apply ⁠¹.

3. Have documents ready if DCYF asks

   DCYF checks state systems first. It may then ask for pay stubs or an employer statement, self-employment tax returns, a custody statement, a landlord statement (DCYF 12-224) or the Single Parent Declaration (DCYF 27-164), and your school schedule ⁠¹.

4. Expect a decision within 30 days

   DCYF must decide within 30 days of your application date. If you do not finish the verification steps within 30 days, you have to start over ⁠⁵.

5. Choose a provider and pay your copay to them

   Give DCYF the provider’s name and phone number. The provider must accept WCCC. You pay your monthly copay directly to the provider, and DCYF pays the rest ⁠¹.

6. Reapply before your 12 months end

   An authorization lasts 12 months, and at reapplication the limit is 65% of SMI. DCYF must send written notice at least 10 days before it lowers or stops your benefits ⁠⁵.

7. Appeal if you disagree

   Request a hearing within 90 calendar days of a decision. If you ask before the effective date, or within 10 days of a notice that cuts or ends your benefits, care can continue until the hearing ⁠⁵.

8. Apply for pre-K separately

   For ECEAP, contact a local provider listed on DCYF’s ECEAP Dashboard. For TK, contact your school district ⁠¹²⁠¹⁴.

See child care help in other states or other assistance in Washington.