Wyoming child care assistance: DFS Child Care Subsidy Program and pre-K options (2026)

One statewide chart: how DFS’s Table I works

Every rule about money is in a one-page DFS chart called Table I, Child Care Sliding Fee Scale. The current version runs from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 ⁠². It sorts families into six “steps” based on gross monthly income and household size, matched to multiples of the 2026 federal poverty level (FPL):

• Steps 1 to 4 (up to 175% FPL) are the only steps open to new applicants. The same applies to anyone returning after a break in aid of 30 days or more ⁠²⁠³.
• Steps 5 and 6 (up to 200% and 225% FPL) are labeled “Transitional.” A family that is already receiving help can move into them at its 12-month redetermination, as long as income does not go above Step 6 ⁠²⁠³.
• 85% of state median income (SMI) is the last row. DFS does not act on an income increase during your 12-month authorization unless it reaches that line ⁠²⁠³.

Income limits are statewide, with no county variation ⁠⁴. By our calculation from DFS’s own 85% SMI row, the Step 4 entry limit is about 47% to 51% of SMI depending on family size. For a family of three it is $3,984 against an SMI of about $8,039, or 49.6% ⁠². That is much lower than the 85% SMI federal ceiling many states use. A family of three earning $4,500 a month can stay in the program at redetermination but could not get in as a new applicant.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: DFS Table I ⁠². The 85% SMI row is unchanged from the April 2025 chart, while the poverty-level bands rose with the 2026 guidelines ⁠⁷.

Assets only matter if they reach $1 million, which you must declare ⁠³.

What a Wyoming family pays: daily copays per child

Most states charge a percentage of income. Wyoming instead charges a fixed daily amount for each child in care, with one rate for part days (under 5 hours) and another for full days (5 hours or more) ⁠²:

Copay amounts are the same as in the April 2025 chart ⁠⁷. Families at or below 100% FPL and children in foster or kinship care pay no copay ⁠⁴.

In its CCDF plan, DFS works a month as 23 days. On that basis one child in full-day care costs a Step 4 family $147.20 a month. At the top of Step 4 that is 3.91% of income for a family of three ⁠⁴. The plan says the fee is per child up to a family maximum and certifies that no family pays more than 7% of income ⁠⁴. The federal rule requiring a 7% cap was repealed by a final rule published May 12, 2026, effective July 13, 2026 ⁠⁸. DFS has not posted any change to its copay amounts or to the 7% statement in its plan ⁠¹⁠².

The copay is not your whole bill. DFS pays the lowest of the provider’s actual charge, its rate for private-pay families, or the DFS maximum rate. You owe the provider any difference ⁠³. When DFS checked payment data for its plan, about 69% of subsidy providers charged more than the DFS full-day maximum, by $0.21 to $75.80 a day ⁠⁴.

Legally exempt providers (relatives, and caregivers watching two or fewer unrelated children) are paid $24.19 a full day and $12.09 a part day ⁠²⁠³. DFS can add up to $250 a month for a child with medically verified special needs ⁠³.

Wyoming’s activity rule: hours matched to your schedule

Wyoming does not set a minimum number of weekly work hours ⁠⁴. Approved activities are a job or self-employment, an educational program with satisfactory progress, employment-related training, POWER (Wyoming’s TANF) work requirements, and an initial job search. Job search is capped at 20 hours a week ⁠³⁠⁴. If you lose your job during the year, you get three months of temporary job search care ⁠³.

DFS authorizes only the hours you are actually working, in class or in training. Lunch counts, and so does a break of no more than two hours between classes. Study time does not count ⁠³. If you are self-employed, DFS divides your net income by the federal minimum wage to set your hours ⁠³. In a two-parent household, both parents must be in an approved activity during the same hours. The exception is when one parent has a medically verified disability that prevents them from caring for the child ⁠³.

College has its own limits. DFS covers only a first associate or bachelor’s degree (or a master’s if that was your original employment goal). The time limits depend on your work hours. If you work under 30 hours a week, you get 3 years for an associate’s degree and 6 for a bachelor’s. If you work 30 hours or more, you get 5 and 8 years ⁠³. Children qualify from birth through age 13. Older children qualify if they have a disability or are under court supervision ⁠³.

Who skips the line, and whether there is one

DFS publishes no waiting list for the subsidy, and none appears in its policy manual ⁠¹⁠³. In its 2025-2027 CCDF plan, DFS commits to serving four groups without a waiting list: children with special needs, families at or below 100% FPL, children experiencing homelessness, and families receiving or leaving TANF. It also names foster care as a priority group ⁠⁴. POWER recipients are categorically eligible ⁠³. Families experiencing homelessness, and foster children, get 30 days from the date of application to provide documents. Care is not recovered from the family if verification never arrives ⁠⁴.

Picking a provider without a Wyoming star rating

Wyoming has no quality rating and improvement system. DFS’s CCDF plan says it has no quality rating system, so it cannot give parents quality information about individual providers. It treated every provider as base quality when it set rates ⁠⁴. Payment rates come from a market survey, the latest dated 2024 ⁠¹. What DFS does require is basic eligibility. The provider must be licensed, or legally exempt and registered with DFS. Exempt caregivers must be 18 or older, live and provide care in Wyoming, and complete health and safety training. They must also pass Central Registry and criminal history checks and hold CPR and first aid certification within 90 days ⁠¹⁠³. You can use ECARES to search and review local providers even if you do not qualify for help ⁠⁵.

Wyoming pre-K: scholarships and TANF seats instead of a state program

Wyoming does not fund a public pre-K program through its school districts. The state’s main route for 4-year-olds is the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act, enacted in 2025 as Enrolled Act 52 ⁠¹¹. It puts $7,000 a year into an education savings account (ESA) that can be spent on pre-K tuition ⁠⁹⁠¹¹. A pre-K child must be 4 on or before August 1 of the enrollment year. The household must be at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines, based on adjusted gross income on the prior year’s tax return. Proof of SNAP or TANF also counts ⁠¹⁰. The pre-K ESA covers one year only ⁠¹⁰.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Add $14,200 for each additional person ⁠¹⁰.

The program was held up by a court injunction during 2025-26. WDE reports that the Wyoming Supreme Court lifted it, allowing payments while the constitutional lawsuit continues in district court ⁠⁹. For 2026-27, the application window closed August 6, 2026. Quarterly deposits run from early September 2026 to early May 2027 ⁠⁹.

The second route is the TANF Preschool Grant. WDE, working with DFS, gives TANF money to preschools so they can offer free or low-cost seats to children whose household income is at or below 185% FPL. Eligibility is checked through free or reduced-price meal eligibility or the Child and Adult Care Food Program ⁠¹²⁠¹³. WDE lists 18 current grantees, among them Big Horn County School Districts #1 and #2 and Natrona County School District #1. You enroll directly with a grantee preschool ⁠¹².

Applying through ECARES and your county DFS office

1. Check your step

   Compare your household’s gross monthly income to Table I. New applicants must fall in Steps 1 to 4 (for example, $3,984 or less for three people) ⁠².

2. Choose a provider first

   You need an approved provider that is registered in ECARES before assistance can begin. If the provider is newly getting licensed, that can take up to 60 days ⁠³.

3. Apply in ECARES

   Create an account, use the pre-screener, and submit the Child Care Assistance Application online. If you have trouble, call your county DFS office ⁠⁵⁠⁶.

4. Send verification

   Expect to provide pay stubs or DFS’s Employer’s Statement, or its Self Employment Statement if you work for yourself. DFS gives you at least 30 days from its request to verify immigrant status ⁠¹⁠³.

5. Wait for the 30-day decision

   DFS processes applications within 30 days, and may take longer while a provider’s license is pending ⁠³. Your authorization starts on the latest of these dates: your application, the start of your activity, or your child’s first day in care ⁠³.

6. Pay your copay and keep your schedule current

   The authorization lasts at least 12 months ⁠³. During the year, report changes in hours, and report income only if it passes 85% SMI ⁠³.

7. Renew before 12 months end

   At renewal you can stay eligible up to Step 6 (225% FPL), as long as your break in aid was shorter than 30 days ⁠³.

8. Appeal within 30 days

   You can request an administrative hearing within 30 days of a notice of adverse action. DFS holds an informal conference within 7 days, and a hearing is scheduled within 20 days. Care does not continue while the appeal is pending ⁠³.

Read more on child care assistance in other states or other help in Wyoming.