Early Child Care and Education Legislative Changes

With the passage of Senate Enrolled Act 2, the income eligibility threshold for early child care workers has changed to 85% of the state median income, allowing more workers to qualify for child care assistance. Previously, early child care workers were required to meet the same income eligibility requirements of other categories of workers (i.e., 150% of Federal Poverty Level).

Individuals who are employed in licensed or regulated child programs and meet the new income threshold are impacted by this change.

SMI varies by household size. For example, 85% of Indiana's SMI for a four-person household is approximately $75,814.

State Median Income Chart

The chart below provides gross monthly income by family size. The lefthand side shows 85% of State Median Income (SMI), which is the new income threshold for employees of licensed or regulated child care programs. For reference, the righthand side shows 150% Federal Poverty Level (FPL), which is the current income threshold for any family to qualify for CCDF and On My Way Pre-K.

State Median Income (SMI) Chart

150% FPL Chart

*For additional family sizes, please contact your eligibility office.

Regulated providers submit an employee referral through I-LEAD. Employees then need to complete an application. The employee is then placed on the child care voucher waitlist but is given priority status as long as funding allows. Once at the top of the list, eligibility determination office staff will work with employees to confirm eligibility and process vouchers.

Yes, child care workers are subject to the same eligibility determination rules and processes. This means that their eligibility for services will be reevaluated annually. If their income exceeds 85% of SMI, they will no longer be eligible for the state child care assistance program.

Co-pays are dependent on income and years in the program. Families who receive CCDF with income over 100% FPL have a co-pay. Child care employees receiving CCDF will have co-pays determined in the same way.

The reimbursement process for enrollment fees will not change between newly-eligible staff and other families who receive CCDF.

No, the rules of CCDF will still apply. Children will not be able to be placed in the same classroom as their guardian.

After moving through the waitlist, applications will be processed and vouchers issued on a first come, first served basis by region. It is not guaranteed that every eligible applicant will receive assistance.

No. Through this program, child care employees are applying for CCDF/OMWPK voucher assistance. This program simply allows more child care workers to apply for assistance than would be eligible under regular CCDF eligibility requirements.

Once referred and moved through the waitlist, the eligibility office will contact employees who are required to provide additional documentation. If they complete this process and are approved, program administrators/supervisors will see the completed vouchers in the system. It is important employees make themselves available to receive important information from the eligibility office through this process.

No. It applies to employees at a licensed or regulated child care program who meet the new income threshold.

Yes. It applies to employees at a licensed or regulated child care program who meet the new income threshold.

No, if a child care worker is already on CCDF, they do not need to be referred through this process. This process simply expands CCDF eligibility to more child care workers. The referral process should be followed for potentially newly eligible employees who would like to receive CCDF.

No, employees currently using CCDF with a high co-pay cannot be referred through this process. This process is meant to expand CCDF to child care employees who make 85% SMI or below, but who were not previously eligible for CCDF. Anyone over 100% FPL will have a co-pay.

Once approved and using CCDF, a child care employee’s CCDF vouchers are connected to them as an employee, and not to their employer. Should an employee receiving CCDF leaves one child care employer to work for another, their CCDF vouchers will remain in place.

As used in this rule, “lead caregiver” means a person who is responsible for the direct care, protection, and supervision of children in a child care facility. The caregiver supervises assistants, student assistants, and volunteer caregivers.

This rule update only applies to licensed child care centers. Other program auspices such as homes, ministries and Legally Licensed Exempt Programs (LLEPs) approved to receive funds from Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) were already able to hire 16- and 17-year-olds per Indiana child care regulations.

Providers are not required to hire or promote any caregivers that meet the new minimum age requirements, and if a particular accreditation requires them not to hire younger caregivers in order to maintain that status they may choose not to do so. This change in the law is meant to increase the size of the available workforce for early childhood learning providers in Indiana, but all hiring and promotion decisions are at the discretion of each provider.

Public and charter schools may participate in On My Way Pre-K and receive a pre-K voucher regardless of Paths to QUALITY™ (PTQ) status or level. Public and charter schools must comply with CCDF provider eligibility standards and will have the option to apply to be either a Legally Licensed Exempt (LLEP) or a licensed center facility.

No. The minimum age requirements for educators teaching 3-5-year-olds remains the same as it was before this law to effect. All staff members in classrooms with 3-5 year-olds must be at least 18 years old.

No. 16- and 17-year olds can only count towards minimum staffing ratios school-age children. Any caregiver in an infant or toddler room at a licensed facility must be at least 18 years of age.

OECOSL defines school-age children as between 5 and 15 years of age. This means that 16- and 17-year-old caregivers may now count toward staffing ratios in rooms with children between the ages of 5 and 15.

We estimate that this change to Indiana law will bring about 800 new caregivers into licensed child care facilities across the state. More than half of Indiana residents live in a "child care desert," or a census tract where children outnumber licensed child care slots by at least three to one. Bringing hundreds of new caregivers into the workforce will create more capacity and help providers better balance resources within their organizations.

Licensed child care centers were allowed to hire newly eligible caregivers beginning on July 1, 2024. Because this law is still relatively new, many providers have not yet had an opportunity to hire or promote caregivers in these age groups, but all licensed centers are now legally able to do so.

As with any hiring decision, providers will need to consider the unique training and resources needed to support younger caregivers in being successful in early child care roles. Younger caregivers will likely have less experience and training in caring for young children, thus will benefit from more training, coaching and support opportunities. This might include expanded orientation and training, mentoring or coaching programs, regular feedback opportunities or other standardized supports. OECOSL has developed an orientation training checklist for providers to use in preparing a young caregiver for an expanded role.

Yes. It is a best practice for programs that hire younger caregivers to notify parents of the change and are encouraged to offer information about related training provided to help reassure families.

Public schools and charter schools that are accredited to provide early child care and seek to participate in the On My Way Pre-K program.

July 1, 2024.

Family child care homes supporting fewer than 8 children who are under the age of 14 and are not related or in the care of the provider.

Contracted employees looking for access to affordable, quality child care.

All licensed and regulated providers.

This change is creating a process  to allow substitute teachers to work in the early child care field. It is up to the provider to determine if substitutes should abide by any additional qualifications they have in place for their staff and substitute workforce?

The micro-facility pilot seeks to address the critical shortage of child care in areas of the state.

New or existing providers that seek to operate a micro- facility and have previously faced regulatory barriers to operating such a facility. Families in areas facing the critical shortage of child care also stand to be impacted by being afforded better access to care.

The state will develop a regulatory model for the micro facility pilot program by 2025.

Interested individuals can follow this work by attending public ELAC meetings. Visit the ELAC webpage to learn more about upcoming meetings.

The new reporting requirements seek to create added information and transparency to support state leaders and legislators in making important decisions regarding state-sponsored child care assistance programs.

Legislation requires the dashboard be published by September 30, 2024.