Connecticut RAPID Survey 1
Child Care Affordability and Access to Subsidies
May 2025
Key Findings
A majority of families reported spending more than 7% of their household income on child care.
Only half of income-eligible families had ever applied for a Care 4 Kids subsidy.
Some families experienced difficulty accessing child care using their Care 4 Kids subsidies.
For more insight into the child care affordability crisis for Connecticut’s families, see our analysis of child care affordability using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to answer the question: What percentage of Connecticut’s families could afford to pay for market-rate, center-based care for all of their young children?
A Majority of Families Reported Spending More than 7% of their Household Income on Child Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has established a benchmark of 7% of household income as a reasonable amount for a family to pay for child care. Among all RAPID survey respondents with at least one young child receiving non-parental care, sixty-four percent (64%) reported spending more than 7% of their household income on child care for their young children (note that this does not include before- or after-school care for any school-aged children in the family).
Half of respondents reported spending more than 9.6% of their household income on child care.
In addition, nearly one quarter (24%) of families reported that their current child care arrangement is not affordable for their family. The perceived affordability of child care did not differ significantly by household income.
Households with Incomes Between 60% and 85% of the State Median Income Were Most Likely to Report Spending More than 7% of their Income on Child Care
Eighty percent (80%) of respondents with household incomes between 60% and 85% of the State Median Income (SMI) - $79,910 to $113,206 for a family of four - reported spending more than 7% of their income on child care. In contrast, this was reported by only fifty-four percent (54%) of respondents with incomes above 85% SMI.
In addition, seventy percent (70%) of respondents with incomes between 30% and 60% SMI - $39,955 to $79,910 for a family of four - reported spending more than 7% of their income on child care.
Access to Care 4 Kids child care subsidies - funded through the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant - and other publicly funded programs reduced the cost burden for some lower-income families (see below for the proportion of families receiving subsidies and/or enrolled in publicly funded programs by household income level). Care 4 Kids eligibility as of May 2024, when this survey was conducted, was capped at 60% SMI. Additionally, the Care 4 Kids family fee was capped at 4% of household income for families below 30% SMI, whereas fees for families above this threshold ranged from 6% to 10% of household income.
As of 2025, the CT Office of Early Childhood has revised the Care 4 Kids guidelines to cap the maximum family fee at or below 7% of a family’s income and to allow families whose incomes increase to 85% SMI to continue receiving subsidies (although the cutoff for new applicants is still set at 60% SMI). These changes should ease the cost burden for some lower-income families. However, most families with incomes above 60% SMI will continue to be ineligible for subsidies despite the high cost burden of child care for many of these families. Additionally, many families that meet the subsidy income eligibility cutoff still do not access these subsidies.
Most Families that Were Income-Eligible for Care 4 Kids Subsidies Did Not Report Using These Subsidies
Although many households with incomes at or below 60% SMI are likely eligible for Care 4 Kids subsidies to reduce the cost of child care, only thirty-four percent (34%) of income-eligible respondents reported currently using Care 4 Kids subsidies. Additionally, 13% of respondents with incomes between 60% and 85% SMI reported currently using Care 4 Kids subsidies. As of April 2024, families were permitted to continue receiving Care 4 Kids subsidies if their income increased to 85% SMI only between eligibility redetermination dates.
Only Half of Income-Eligible Families Had Ever Applied for a Care 4 Kids Subsidy
Among parents who had ever searched for child care and were currently income-eligible for Care 4 Kids subsidies (that is, their household income was less than or equal to 60% SMI), only about half (52%) reported that they had applied for a Care 4 Kids subsidy. Of these, about three in four (74%) reported that they had actually received the subsidy.
Among income-eligible families who did not apply for a Care 4 Kids subsidy, the primary reasons cited were:
uncertainty about whether their family is eligible (28%), and
not knowing about Care 4 Kids subsidies or how to find a program that accepts them (20%).
Combined, this suggests that nearly half (48%) of families who did not apply for Care 4 Kids subsidies despite being income-eligible lacked knowledge about the program. Increased educational outreach to families regarding the Care 4 Kids subsidy program could help many lower-income families access this valuable financial support.
Additionally, fifteen percent (15%) of income-eligible families who did not apply for subsidies said this was because the application process was too difficult.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) said they did not apply because their family was not eligible (18%) or they did not need the subsidies (9%).
Some Families Experienced Difficulty Accessing Child Care Using their Care 4 Kids Subsidies
Among families who had received a Care 4 Kids child care subsidy, thirty-one percent (31%) reported that they had difficulty finding a provider who accepted the subsidy.
Additionally, forty percent (40%) reported that it took at least 3 months after they applied before they started receiving the subsidy. This delay in payment creates a challenge for parents who need immediate child care, and for child care providers who need prompt payment to support their operating costs.
Forty-three percent (43%) of parents who received Care 4 Kids subsidies reported that they had experienced difficulty maintaining their subsidy, for example due to paperwork delays or recertification rules.
Roughly Half of Lower-Income Families Who Were Utilizing Non-Parental Care Had a Child Enrolled in a Program Offering Free or Reduced Tuition
Care 4 Kids subsidies are not the only option available to help lower-income families in Connecticut access affordable child care. The CT Office of Early Childhood also provides state funding to selected child care programs in lower-income communities to offer reduced-tuition child care slots with sliding scale parent fees, Head Start programs provide free child care for families with incomes below the federal poverty level, and some public schools offer free or reduced-tuition preschool programs to town residents. State-funded programs offer sliding scale fees based on a percentage of household income to families with incomes well above 60% SMI, making them a good option for families in lower-income communities who do not meet the income cutoff for Care 4 Kids subsidies.
Among all respondents with household incomes at or below 60% SMI who had at least one non-school-aged child in non-parental care, roughly half (53%) reported that a child was currently enrolled in a program that offered sliding scale fees or free/reduced tuition. This is substantially larger than the percentage of these parents who reported that they were receiving Care 4 Kids subsidies (34%).
Among families with incomes below 30% SMI, fifty-nine percent (59%) had a child enrolled in a program offering free or reduced tuition.
Half (50%) of families with incomes between 30% and 60% SMI had a child enrolled in such a program.
Roughly one-third (33%) of families with incomes above 60% SMI had a child enrolled in such a program.
A Majority of Families Had Searched for Programs Offering Free or Reduced Tuition, Though Some Lacked Knowledge of These Programs
Among all survey respondents who had searched for child care, fifty-nine percent (59%) reported that they had searched for a program that offered sliding scale fees or free/reduced tuition to eligible families. Among families with household incomes at or below 85% SMI - $113,206 for a family of four - sixty-eight percent (68%) had searched for such programs. Overall, 75% of families who searched for programs offering free or reduced tuition ended up actually enrolling their child in such a program.
Among families with household incomes at or below 85% SMI who had not looked for programs offering free/reduced tuition when they searched for child care, the top cited reasons were:
they did not know about these programs or how to find them (42%), and/or
they were not sure if their family would be eligible for a sliding scale fee or free/reduced tuition (37%).
Additionally, roughly a quarter of these families (26%) reported that they did not think there were any such programs in their community.
Twenty-six percent (26%) reported that they did not look for these programs because their family was not eligible for a sliding scale fee or free/reduced tuition, and nineteen percent (19%) said that they didn’t think their family needed it.
Again, these results make clear that greater educational outreach to families regarding the availability of programs offering free or reduced tuition, and the eligibility requirements for these programs, could help many families access affordable child care.
About Sixty Percent of Lower-Income Families Were Taking Advantage of Programs Offering Free or Reduced Tuition and/or Care 4 Kids Subsidies to Lower their Cost of Child Care
Families whose children are enrolled in state-funded child care centers and some public school preschools are also eligible to receive Care 4 Kids subsidies. Among families with incomes less than or equal to 60% SMI who had any young child in non-parental care, sixty-one percent (61%) had a child enrolled in a program offering free or reduced tuition and/or they were using a Care 4 Kids subsidy.
This percentage was even higher for families with incomes below 30% SMI.
The percentage of families that were utilizing Care 4 Kids subsidies and/or programs offering free or reduced tuition was:
Sixty-six percent (66%) of families with incomes below 30% SMI
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of families with incomes between 30% and 60% SMI
Thirty-six percent (36%) of families with incomes between 60% and 85% SMI
Thirty-three percent (33%) of families with incomes greater than 85% SMI
