If your family is experiencing homelessness, you may qualify for childcare assistance with significant accommodations — including full-time care regardless of service need, no parent fees, and waived asset requirements.

What Counts as Homelessness

You may qualify as homeless if you are in any of the following situations:

• Living in a DHCD shelter or temporary housing at a motel/hotel
• Participating in a DHCD-funded homeless stabilization or diversion program
• Living in a DCF-funded shelter
• Living in a residential treatment program funded by the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS/DPH)
• Living in an emergency domestic violence shelter
• Living in a privately funded homeless shelter
• Sharing housing with others due to loss of housing or economic hardship ("doubled up")
• Living in a motel, hotel, trailer park, or campground due to lack of alternatives
• Living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, or substandard housing
• Living in a place not designed for sleeping (e.g., a bus station)

The last several categories follow the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act definition, which is broader than "living in a shelter."

How to Certify Homelessness

You need one of the following documents, issued within the last 90 days:

• A DHCD referral confirming you're in a DHCD shelter or program
• A DCF referral confirming you're in a DCF-funded shelter
• A referral letter on letterhead from another shelter or program (must include the date, agency name, shelter type, referral contact info, and names/DOBs of family members)
• A certification from your child's public school district or from a CCR&R, confirming your family meets the McKinney-Vento definition

Benefits for Homeless Families

Benefit	Details
Full-time care	Homelessness is its own qualifying service need category — you receive full-time care regardless of your employment or education status, and no additional activity is required
No parent fee	Waived for families meeting the homelessness service need
No income collection	No income documentation is required, and no income is entered into the system
Asset requirements waived	The $1,000,000 asset limit does not apply
6 months for immunization/paperwork	Families experiencing homelessness have up to 6 months to comply with child immunization and physical paperwork requirements
Priority waitlist access	Homeless families are in the priority access group on the centralized EEC waitlist

Homeless Child Care Contracts (Immediate Access)

If you are receiving services through a DHCD or DCF shelter, you may get immediate access to a childcare slot through a Homeless Child Care Contract — without going through the waitlist.

• DHCD or DCF issues a referral directly to a contracted provider with homeless care openings
• If no openings are available, you may be placed on the EEC waitlist
• You must still complete the eligibility process with the provider

Note: If you're also eligible for DTA-related or DCF-related child care, you should be enrolled through those programs instead.

Authorization Period

• At least 12 months
• There is no time limit on homelessness as a service need — as long as your family continues to meet the definition of homelessness, you can continue to receive care at each reauthorization

Reauthorization

• If referred by DHCD or DCF: Care continues as long as you remain homeless and the referring agency renews the referral. If they determine care is no longer appropriate, care ends — but you can finish out your current authorization.
• All other homeless families: You must present a new certification of homelessness (within 90 days) at each reauthorization, plus any other required documentation.

Continuity of Care

When your homeless child care services end, you can continue receiving care through the income-eligible program if you meet the standard requirements.

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Next Steps

• In a shelter? Ask your shelter about a childcare referral — DHCD and DCF shelters can refer you directly
• Doubled up or in other unstable housing? Your child's school district or your CCR&R can certify your homelessness under McKinney-Vento
• Need to find a provider? See Choosing a Provider (1.6)
• Approaching reauthorization? Present a new certification of homelessness to your CCR&R
• Also experiencing domestic violence? See Domestic Violence (1.16)