The cost of child care is a major consideration for most families. Many families spend over half of their income toward high-quality child care programs. Some reasons child care can be so high include high ratios of adults to children, teacher or provider qualifications, location of care, and costs of space, insurance, equipment, and special programs. Quality care for infants and toddlers can be especially expensive due to small group sizes. Hiring an in-home caregiver tends to be the most expensive form of care, followed by centers and family child care homes.

Camp Fire Child Care Resource and Referral service maintains information on the average cost of care by county, city and even by zip code. If you are interested in learning about the average cost of care in your area call us at 817-831-2111 or by email at  CCRR@CampFireFW.org.

Some government agencies offer support for low income families with the cost of child care as well as supporting families in becoming self sufficient. Below are listed some of the agencies that may be able to assist with paying a portion of your child care costs.

Child Care Management Services (CCMS) 
operates as a partnership between the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and local human service agencies that contract to manage local CCMS operations. CCMS can help families pay for child care if they meet certain employment and income criteria. For more information contact Child Care Management Services in your area:
Tarrant County (817) 831-0374     Dallas County (214) 630-5949
Denton County (800) 234-9306     West Central Texas (800) 542-4045

Texas Workforce Commission

United Way 2-1-1

Head Start Programs
Head Start is a national program that provides services to low-income preschool children and their families. There is also a program for low-income infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, called Early Head Start.

Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: Helps families pay for child care for children under the age of 13, if the parents are working, or looking for work. Parents who are full-time students can also claim the credit. Qualifying care includes child care centers, family child care homes, and care provided by paid friends or relatives -- as long as the relative is not a dependent of the taxpayer. The size of the credit depends on the number of children in care, your family income, and the amount you paid for child care during the tax year. There are limits on the credit given for one child, and two or more children.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) sometimes called the Earned Income Credit (EIC), is a refundable federal income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families. To qualify, taxpayers must meet certain requirements and file a tax return, even if they did not earn enough money to be obligated to file a tax return.

The EITC has no effect on certain welfare benefits. In most cases, EITC payments will not be used to determine eligibility for Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, low-income housing or most Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) payments.

Para informacion en Espanol comunicese a este domicilio CCRR@CampFireFW.org