All four of the states we analyzed use 85 percent of state median income as their ceiling on eligibility. This is the same as the federal income limit for child care assistance. Colorado allows each county to set eligibility requirements with a requirement that the floor on eligibility is no lower than 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Texas administers child care subsidies at the local workforce board level, but most of the workforce boards use the same eligibility criteria. Sources: Colorado Department of Early Childhood, “Colorado Child Care Assistance Program for Families,” https://cdec.Colorado.gov/Colorado-child-care-assistance-program-for-families; Missouri Department of Social Services, Benefit Program Income Limits, April 2023, https://mydss.mo.gov/media/pdf/benefit-program-limit-chart; North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education, “Financial Assistance, Do I qualify?” https://ncchildcare.ncdhhs.gov/Services/Financial-Assistance/Do-I-Qualify; Texas Workforce Solutions, Child Care Services (CCS) Eligibility Requirements, https://www.wfsolutions.org/images/workforce/GeneralWebsite/Content/HowWeHelp/ChildCare/ParentForms/CurrentApplicationPacket/new%20apps/2022%20forms/1.%20CCS%20Complete%20Packet.pdf; and Rebecca Ullrich, Stephanie Schmit, and Ruth Cosse, Inequitable Access to Child Care Subsidies, Center for Law and Social Policy, April 2019, https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/inequitable-access-child-care-subsidies/
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