Childcare Subsidy Program

Child Care Subsidy is opening for the period July 2024 to December 2024. The application will be available January 2, 2025 to February 3, 2025 @ 11:59pm.

WAU members incurring childcare expenses for children not yet enrolled in first grade are eligible for a subsidy to offset these costs. Article 12 of the contract provides $200,000 per year for a child care subsidy program for eligible WAU bargaining unit members. The subsidy amount per applicant is determined by the number of participating children and the number of months they were eligible during each subsidy period.

Eligibility

  • Each child must be a dependent of a WAU bargaining unit member on regular payroll.

  • Each child is listed as a dependent on the WAU barganing unit member’s income tax forms or on WSU HR benefit forms.

  • Care must be received from a state licensed facility or individual, or government licensed Canadian provider.

  • For monthly submission, the child must have attended daycare for at least two weeks during the month.

  • The child has not yet entered 1st grade. Unfortunately this subsidy program does not cover after school care.

  • Eligibility begins when the employee becomes a WAU bargaining unit member.

Point System

Payments are disbursed twice per year via the WSU payroll system and is considered taxable income. Payments cannot exceed the actual expenses incurred for childcare. Funds are distributed on a point system:

1 point/child/month
for part-time childcare (less than 20 hours/week)

2 points/child/month
for full-time childcare (more than hours/week)

For example, a child receiving full-time care for 6 months receives 12 points (2 points x 6 months). A child receiving part-time care for 6 months receives 6 points (1 point x 6 months). If you have more than one eligible child, you will receive the total points for all eligible dependent children.

Disbursement

The childcare subsidy covers two time periods each year: January 1–June 30 and July 1–December 31. After the period has ended, the subsidy application form will open for one month. After the application period has ended, it is no longer possible to apply for funds for that period.

To Apply

The application form opens for one month twice a year (in July and in January). You will need to save invoices and payment records, and your provider’s license number.

Please do not submit your provider's Federal Tax ID number. You can find your provider's license number at Statewide Search for Licensed Child Care Centers and Homes. All license numbers begin with either "DC-" or "DF-" followed by a nine-digit number (eg. DC123456789 or DF123456789).