Welcome Parents

Eligibility Criteria for Child Care Services

To qualify for Child Care Services (CCS), families must meet the following requirements:

• Child must be under 13 years of age (or 19 years of age, if disabled)
• Child must live in the same household as the applicant
• Applicant must have primary custody of the child
  • If applicant is not the parent of the child, then applicant must provide (1) documentation explaining why the parent is unavailable and (2) proof of responsibility for the child
• Provide proof of U.S. citizenship or immigration status
• A parent or stepparent living in the household must work, attend school, or participate in training or an educational program for an average of 25 hours per week (single-parent household) or 50 hours combined (two-parent household) over a four-week period. Household members include parents, stepparents, adult dependents, and any child or minor for whom the parent is responsible
  • Applicants paid in cash or without taxes withheld are considered self-employed
  • Applicants actively seeking employment may be eligible for up to three months of child care assistance during their job search
  • Families experiencing homelessness are exempt from this requirement. Homeless children and youth are defined as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals; have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and migratory children
• Meet gross household income (before taxes) guidelines based on family size. (See Initial Eligibility Income Limits table below) Household income may include, but is not limited to:
  • Rental income from property, homesteads, or businesses
  • Income from boarders or lodgers
  • Earnings from estate or trust funds, royalties, pensions, annuities, or life insurance
  • Retirement income and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI)
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Alimony, court settlements, or legal judgments
• Total family assets must not exceed $1 million
• Must reside in one of these counties: Angelina, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, or Tyler
• Education and training limitations:
  • Up to 60 cumulative months of child care assistance is allowed for full-time undergraduate study
  • Graduate programs are not eligible unless the applicant meets the 25 hours per week work requirement
  • Online class hours will be considered in the applicant’s total training hours if from a licensed or accredited institution
  • For education programs using semester credit hours, time will be counted as:
    • 3 hours/week per credit hour (spring/fall classes)
    • 6 hours/week per credit hour (summer/condensed classes)
  • For non-credit programs, actual class time will be counted
  • Parents in a program that leads to an undergraduate degree from an institution of higher education may be exempt from residing with the child