With the cost of child care, like everything else, soaring to new heights over the last couple years, families across Kentucky are struggling to afford child care.
But, just because a child is old enough to attend public school doesn’t mean parents are suddenly off the hook when it comes to paying for child care. With a school calendar that is out of sync with the traditional American work calendar, working parents in Kentucky with elementary-age children often find themselves having to add on the cost of afterschool and summer care to their list of annual household expenses.
According to the American Camp Association (ACA), the average cost this year for a day camp is $178 per day – more than double what it was last year. If you send your kid to a sleep away camp, the cost has tripled to nearly $450 per day since just last year.
With free or low-cost programs, like those run by nonprofits like Boys & Girls Clubs and Save the Children, few and far between across the Commonwealth, Kentucky’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) is one of the few lifelines for low-income families needed school-age child care during the school year or over the summer.
In light of the program’s recent income limit increase to 200% of federal poverty guidelines, we wanted to create a resource to help families with school-age children learn more about how CCAP can be used to cover school-age child care costs and navigate the cumbersome application and recertification process. Our new webpage, Child Care Assistance FAQs, was designed specifically with families of school-age children in mind, as we know that families may have different questions when it comes to applying for and using CCAP to cover school-age child care costs.
We hope it will answer any families may have about the program.