Your fee assistance benefit depends on the rate your provider charges, your Total Family Income (TFI), and whether you live in a high cost area. The benefit amount is the difference between your provider’s rate or the provider cap—whichever is less—and your parent fee. The program will pay your chosen provider directly.
You must pay your provider for costs the fee assistance doesn’t cover, including taxes and fees for more than 60 hours of care weekly. Provider rates may only include child care services and may not include housekeeping-related duties outside of what is necessary for child care.
To determine what you will pay for child care each month:
- First, determine your parent fee and provider cap.
- DoD sets the parent fee per child for each TFI category.
- DoD sets provider caps for basic and high cost areas. If your provider charges more than the cap, then you must pay the parent fee plus any amount above the cap.
- DoD assigns you to a TFI category based on your TFI. Refer to the TFI Tip Sheet for guidance on what income to include when calculating your TFI. Review the FY25 CCYH Parent Fees document to determine your parent fee and provider cap for each child.
- Next, determine your provider’s monthly rate.
- If your provider charges a weekly rate, multiply that amount by 4.33 to get the monthly rate.
- Subtract the parent fee from the provider rate or the provider cap—whichever is less. This is your benefit amount for each child.
EXAMPLE 1: FULL-TIME CARE IN A BASIC AREA
TFI: $150,000
TFI category: X
Parent fee for full-time care in a basic area: $846 per child per month
Provider cap for full-time care: $1,800 per child per month
Provider rate: $1,650 per month (below the provider cap)
Benefit amount: $1,650 (provider rate) - $846 (parent fee) = $804 per child per month
Parent responsibility: $846 per child per month (same as the parent fee because the provider rate is less than the provider cap)
EXAMPLE 2: FULL-TIME CARE IN A HIGH COST AREA
TFI: $110,000
TFI category: VII
Parent fee for full-time care in a high cost area: $620 per child per month
Provider cap for full-time care: $1,800 per child per month
Provider rate: $2,500 per month ($700 above provider cap)
Benefit amount: $1,800 (provider cap) - $620 (parent fee) = $1,180 per child per month
Parent responsibility: $620 (parent fee) + $700 (provider fee above cap) = $1,320 per child per month (more than the parent fee because the provider rate is more than the provider cap)