Oregon Student Child Care Grant

The 2023-24 application is now open.

Fill out the FAFSA or ORSAA as soon as possible after October 1 for the upcoming year.

Complete the Oregon Student Child Care Grant Application. Transcripts are not submitted during the application process. Transcripts will be requested only if your application is eligible after the application due date. The deadline to submit your application and FAFSA or ORSAA is May 31, 5:00 pm (PST or PDT).

DEADLINE NOTE: If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it will automatically be extended to 5:00 pm (PST or PDT) on the following business day.

To be eligible for the Child Care Grant, you must:

• Be an Oregon resident with a child or legal dependent age 12 and under in need of child care, or, if over age 12, who satisfies the requirements of special needs.
• Use a childcare provider listed with the Oregon Department of Human Services, or, registered or certified with the Oregon Child Care Division.
• Have not earned a bachelor's or higher degree.
• Enrolled or planning to enroll as an undergraduate student at an eligible Oregon postsecondary institution*.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress.
• Not be in default on any federal Title IV loan or owing a refund on federal Title IV funds previously disbursed.

*Oregon postsecondary institutions include Oregon community colleges, public universities, and private universities. There are some for-profit postsecondary institutions who have campuses in Oregon but are owned by corporations based outside of Oregon. Enrollment at those non-Oregon based institutions disqualifies applicants from receiving the Oregon Student Child Care Grant.

Due to limited funding the Child Care Grant is competitive. Recipients are prioritized in the following order:  

1. Prior recipients who continue to maintain eligibility requirements, have not exhausted maximum eligibility (6 years), or obtained a Bachelor's degree.
2. New applicants will be prioritized based on the following criteria:
   
   • Number of credits earned toward a Certificate, Associates Degree, or first Bachelor's Degree.
   • Financial need as determined by the FAFSA or ORSAA.
   • Use of eligible child care providers. 
   • Students enrolled full-time.
   • Students enrolled half-time must enroll with sufficient hours to earn 36 credit hours (24 at semester schools) per academic year.

Awards are based on the lesser of:

• Student’s actual childcare costs for the eligible child(ren) included on the application; or
• The average childcare costs per child based on the student’s local area rates; and
• Grant amounts cannot exceed $10,000 per academic year.

Grants are sent to the student’s eligible school’s financial aid office to be disbursed onto the student’s billing account with the rest of their financial aid. Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress and continues to have a child who qualifies under the rules of the program. Disbursement is made directly to the school, not to the recipient or their childcare provider. It is the student's responsibility to pay their child care provider.

If a student meets all of the following criteria, their Child Care Grant may be renewed:

• Complete a new application and a FAFSA or ORSAA each year.
• The awardee completes at least 36-quarter or 24-semester hours for credit during the nine month period of fall/winter/spring quarters/semesters.
• Student has not exhausted eligibility or completed a bachelors degree, whichever comes first.
• Continues to be enrolled in an approved program at an eligible school.
• Maintains satisfactory academic progress, as defined by the school.
• The awardee provides all required documents including a transcript of the academic work completed through spring of the prior year.
• The student’s child(ren) continue to be eligible child(ren).
• The student’s child care provider remains listed with the Oregon Department of Human Services, or, registered or certified with the Oregon Child Care Division.

The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) and Early Learning Division (ELD) of the Department of Education recently announced expanded eligibility for affordable childcare through the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) program. Many families will qualify for more childcare assistance, including students for study time and caretakers who work night shifts.

Student Eligibility: Students can now qualify to receive childcare support regardless of their employment status, if they attend an institution of higher education that qualifies for federal financial aid* and meet other ERDC eligibility requirements. Students aged 20 or younger and enrolled in high school or GED classes can also qualify for ERDC. Read more in the recent ELD press release here. 

*Students do not have to be receiving financial aid to qualify, the institution of higher education itself must be eligible to receive federal financial aid. Students cannot receive both ERDC and the OSAC Student Child Care Grant.

How to Apply: Contact your local ODHS office or call 1-800-699-9074. Even if you have applied for childcare in the past and did not qualify, many of the rules have changed and you may now be able to receive help paying for childcare. 

Please send any questions about ERDC eligibility to Child Care Policy at childcare.policy@odhsoha.oregon.gov

Sharing this Information: ELD created an infographic describing how the Jan. 1, 2023 changes to ERDC expands opportunities for families. It is available in five languages and is linked below.

• English 
• 繁體中文 / Traditional Chinese
• Русский / Russian
• Español / Spanish   
• Tiếng Việt / Vietnamese