Most families receiving childcare financial assistance pay a parent fee — a copay toward the cost of their child's care. Think of it like a sliding scale: the more you earn, the more you pay. Some families pay nothing.

How Your Fee Is Determined

Your parent fee is based on:

• Your family income
• Your family size

EEC sets the fee scale. Your CCR&R automatically calculates your specific fee at the time of your authorization, and recalculates it at each reauthorization. For the current fee scale, contact your CCR&R or check EEC's website — we don't include the exact amounts here because they change periodically.

Who Pays No Parent Fee?

The following families are exempt from parent fees:

Family type	Why
TAFDC or SNAP families with an active DTA referral	Fee exempted during active benefits
DCF families with an active DCF case	Fee exempted during active case
Families experiencing homelessness	Fee waived
Transitional families (first 12 months after DTA or DCF case closes)	Fee not assessed during initial transitional period

Note about provisional authorizations: If you are on a provisional (Seeking Approved Activity) authorization, parent fees are not waived. If you have countable income at the time your provisional authorization is entered, a fee will be assessed. Once a parent fee has been established for an authorization, it cannot increase until your next reauthorization.

Who Do I Pay?

You pay your provider directly — not EEC, not your CCR&R. Your parent fee is part of your agreement with your childcare provider. The provider is responsible for collecting it from you.

Fees for Multiple Children

If you have more than one child receiving subsidized care, your parent fee is calculated based on enrollment order (by child age) and whether each child attends full-time or part-time:

• Youngest child (first enrolled): You pay the full parent fee rate
• Second child: You pay half the full rate
• Third child: You pay one-quarter of the full rate (half of the second child's rate)
• Part-time: If a child attends part-time, their fee is further halved

Your CCR&R calculates this automatically when your authorization is set up or renewed.

When Does My Fee Change?

Your parent fee is reviewed:

• At every reauthorization (every 12 months)
• When you report a mandatory change (like income going over 85% SMI)
• When you voluntarily report a change that benefits you (like your income going down)

If your income drops, you can report this to your CCR&R at any time — you don't have to wait until reauthorization. Your CCR&R would process a "non-temporary change" to your voucher, which can take time. Your fee is typically lowered starting from the date you submit your completed documentation to the CCR&R. Reporting early could lower your fee sooner.

Additional Fees

Providers are generally not allowed to charge you additional fees beyond your parent fee, except in accordance with EEC policy. Providers also no longer collect an initial deposit from families — the previous policy of charging two weeks upfront (one as a deposit for the last week of care) has been eliminated. If a provider is charging you extra fees and you're not sure if they're allowed, ask your CCR&R.

What If I Can't Pay My Fee?

This is important. If you're struggling to pay your parent fee, don't ignore it. Here's the escalation path and what you can do at each stage:

The Fee Non-Payment Process

Step	What happens	What you can do
1. Warning	Your provider issues a written warning that payment is due	Pay before the next fee due date — if you do, no further action is taken
2. Next due date	If you haven't paid by the next due date...	Ask your provider about a repayment plan. You can negotiate one. If you follow it, no further action is taken and no IPV is issued.
3. Termination notice	If no payment and no repayment plan, provider or CCR&R issues a termination notice	You have 14 days from the notice to pay the full overdue balance
4. Termination	If you don't pay within 14 days, your services are terminated and an IPV is issued	You can appeal (see How to Appeal (1.20)). After paying the balance in full, you can return to care or the waitlist.

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Next Steps

• Need to report an income change that might lower your fee? See Reporting Changes (1.10)
• Got a termination notice over fees? See Your Voucher Was Terminated (1.19)
• Want to understand sanctions? See Sanctions (1.21)
• Are you a provider with fee collection questions? See Collecting Parent Fees (2.6)