West Virginia child care assistance and Universal Pre-K: income limits, fees and tiers (2026)

How six CCR&R agencies run Child Care Assistance county by county

The CCR&R for your county handles your whole case, from intake interview to 12-month status review ⁠². DoHS’s June 2026 map lists six agencies: Child Care Resource Center (Catholic Charities West Virginia), Choices CCR&R, Connect CCR&R, Link CCR&R, and MountainHeart Community Services North and South ⁠⁸.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Assistance is a certificate, not cash. The CCR&R pays your chosen provider directly. That can be a licensed center, a family child care facility or home, an out-of-school-time program, or an informal or relative caregiver ⁠⁷. Providers may not bill you more than the fee on your certificate. The only extra charges allowed are registration, transportation and late pick-up fees, which the provider must tell you about before enrolling your child ⁠⁵⁠². Since a DoHS notice of January 15, 2026, four hours of care counts as one billable day in every setting ⁠¹¹.

150% of poverty to get in, 185% to stay

New applicants must have gross monthly income at or below the “intake cap,” which is 150% of the federal poverty level. Families already receiving help stay eligible until income passes 185% ⁠⁶⁠³. Both limits come from Appendix A of the manual. The version effective October 1, 2024 uses the 2024 poverty guidelines. As of October 20, 2026, it was still the scale posted on the Bureau’s policy page ⁠³.

Sources: Appendix A ⁠³; DoHS SMI chart used for applications and reviews from May 1, 2024 ⁠⁴.

West Virginia’s 2025-2027 CCDF Plan lists 85% of state median income as its maximum eligibility limit ⁠⁵. In practice, though, the manual sends case managers to Appendix A, and CCR&Rs tell families the cap is 150% of poverty ⁠²⁠⁶. Income between 185% of poverty and 85% of SMI is handled case by case. The manual’s example is a family whose income rises after a job search ends. The CCR&R can file an “Over Income Policy Exception,” and the Division then sets a phase-out fee ⁠². Families must have assets of no more than $1,000,000 ⁠².

Daily parent fees on the October 2024 sliding scale

West Virginia does not set fees as a percentage of income. The CCR&R finds your income band on Appendix A and charges a flat daily fee for each child in care. The fee is the same for every child, and only the three youngest children are charged ⁠²⁠³. You pay the fee to the provider ⁠².

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Fees for larger families go up to $13.00 a day for a family of ten at 180% of poverty ⁠³.

Families of three or four pay less per day than families of two at the same poverty percentage. For example, a parent with two children and $3,200 a month in income owes $4.50 a day per child ⁠³. Foster and kinship care families pay no fee. For families with protective services cases, the fee is waived when the CPS worker asks ⁠⁵. If your income drops partway through your 12-month period, you can ask the CCR&R to lower your fee. If your income goes up from more hours or a raise, case managers may not raise your fee before the next status review ⁠².

West Virginia’s plan certifies a maximum co-payment of 7% of income ⁠⁵. The federal rule requiring that cap was repealed on May 12, 2026, effective July 13, 2026 ⁠¹⁴. West Virginia had not posted a new fee scale as of October 2026. The October 2024 dollar amounts still apply ⁠³.

Work, school and job-search hours the CCR&R will count

Every parent in the home must be in a qualifying activity. That includes both parents, or a parent and a stepparent ⁠²⁠⁶. These are the main rules in the manual ⁠²:

• Employment: at least 20 hours a week, paid at least the West Virginia minimum wage of $8.75 an hour. Self-employed parents must meet the same hours-and-wage test.
• Undergraduate study: 12 credit hours in fall and spring, or 6 credits plus 15 hours of work or training. Graduate students need 9 credits, or 3 credits plus 15 hours. Online-only students are not eligible, and high school students are exempt from the hour minimum.
• WV WORKS: 20 hours a week of assigned activity, or the maximum your Family Support Specialist assigns.
• Job search: three months for parents who lose a job or finish school, approved for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. You can request another job-search period after one ends.

The plan also allows fewer than 20 hours of work when it is combined with school or training ⁠⁵.

Who is served first and whose fees are waived

The manual and plan do not describe a statewide waiting list. The plan says these groups are served without being placed on one: children with special needs, families at or below 40% of poverty, children experiencing homelessness, and families receiving or leaving TANF ⁠⁵. Providers get $3 more a day for a child with documented special needs and $6 more for care during non-traditional hours ⁠⁷⁠⁵.

The Supplemental Child Care Assistance program is an alternative payment path for families who would not qualify for federal CCDF funds. It covers participants in State Opioid Response and Jobs & Hope (Jobs & Hope has no household income test) and foster or kinship foster parents who lack a qualifying activity. CCR&Rs control entry and issue coupons ⁠¹⁰.

A 2026 bill, House Bill 4067, would have made child care workers eligible regardless of income. It stalled in House Finance on February 18, 2026, and did not become law ⁠¹⁵.

Tier I, II and III: what the Tiered Reimbursement System pays

The Child Care Tiered Reimbursement System is West Virginia’s quality rating for subsidy providers. Licensed centers and facilities and registered family child care homes can apply to move up a tier ⁠¹:

• Tier I: licensed or registered, paid base rates.
• Tier II: meets state standards on enhanced ratios, additional professional development, a documented curriculum and child development supports. Pays $3 more per child per day ⁠⁵.
• Tier III: national accreditation from an approved body. Pays $6 more per child per day ⁠⁵.

On the October 2024 rate chart, a full day of infant care at a child care center pays $39 at Tier I, $42 at Tier II and $45 at Tier III ⁠⁷. Your parent fee does not change with the tier ⁠⁵.

WV Universal Pre-K: free for every child who turns 4 before July 1

Under §18-5-44, each county board must offer pre-K to every child who has turned 4 before July 1 of the school year. It is voluntary and has no income test. It must provide at least 1,500 minutes of instruction a week and 48,000 minutes a year ⁠¹². Board of Education Policy 2525 (126CSR28, effective August 15, 2022) adds these rules ⁠¹³:

• Classes run at least four days a week. Each class has no more than 20 children and at least two adults, one of them a teacher.
• 3-year-olds can enroll if they have an IEP.
• At least half of classrooms must be run under contracts with community partners such as Head Start and child care centers. That is why many pre-K seats are inside child care programs.
• Classrooms counted in the state school aid formula must be free to parents. Breakfast and lunch are provided. Busing is a support, not a guaranteed service, except as a special education related service.
• Each county runs one universal application for pre-K, Head Start and child care, and placement can be at any participating program in the county with an opening.

Case managers can authorize extra subsidized time for children who attend pre-K, Head Start or Early Head Start, so care can cover the rest of a working parent’s day ⁠⁵.

Applying through your CCR&R, step by step

1. Find your agency

   Use the DoHS CCR&R map or directory to find the agency for the county where you live ⁠⁸.

2. Start online if you want

   You can submit a child care application through WV PATH. It is routed to your county’s CCR&R, but no care is paid until your in-person interview. PATH deletes intakes that are older than 45 days ⁠².

3. Book the face-to-face interview

   CCR&Rs must interview you within 5 days of first contact at a main office, or within 10 days at an outreach site. If you cannot come in, ask for a phone application. You then have 13 days to return original signed forms ⁠².

4. Bring originals

   Bring photo ID and proof of address. You need a birth certificate and proof of citizenship for each child, and one month of pay stubs no more than 45 days old. If you are in school, bring your schedule. Also bring proof of child support and any other income. New hires use the ECE-CC-1B employment form ⁠⁵⁠⁶.

5. Get your certificate and choose a provider

   The CCR&R issues a Child Care Certificate listing your daily fee. You also sign a Parent Services Agreement, and a medical record form is due within 30 days of placement for children under 6 ⁠².

6. Report changes within 5 days

   Report any change in job, school or household to your CCR&R within five days. Failing to report can close your case for 30 days. Status reviews come every 12 months ⁠².

7. Appeal in writing

   Most reductions or closures take effect 13 days after written notice. Ask for a fair hearing in writing within those 13 days to keep care going. You can still request one up to 60 days after the notice, and the hearings office must decide within 90 days ⁠².

8. Enroll in pre-K separately

   Use your county board of education’s universal pre-K application ⁠¹³.

See child care assistance in other states or more help in West Virginia.