Parent Information

To be eligible for child care services, families must be within the income guidelines and be working, in school or in training a minimum of 25 hours per week. The family must reside in one of the nine counties in the North East Texas Workforce Development Board area: Bowie, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Morris, Red River, or Titus. To determine if you are eligible you may call toll-free 1-800-874-3226 or 903-794-8999. An initial screening will be conducted over the phone. If you appear to be eligible, the next step is to complete an eligibility packet and provide the required documentation of work/training participation and income to determine your eligibility. To view the income guidelines, please click here and/or download an eligibility packet, please click here.

More detailed information about the Child Care Program, including the parent’s rights and responsibilities, can be found in the North East Texas Child Care Services Parent Handbook.

Choosing Child Care Arrangements

The child care program is based on parent’s choices and needs. Parents have the option to select a Regulated Provider or a Relative Provider. Some regulated providers are Texas Rising Star Providers, which is a voluntary program for providers committed to providing quality care and who are exceeding the state’s minimum licensing standards. A list of the current Texas Rising Star providers may be found by clicking the link to Rising Star Provider list.

A Relative Provider must not be living in the same home as the child (unless meets the TWC exception rules) and must be a grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling of the child/children who is over 18 years of age. A person appearing on the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Registry is not eligible to be a Relative Provider with CCS.

The parent’s share of cost for child care is a percentage of their gross monthly income – 9% for one child and 11% for two or more children. Child Care Services has a maximum daily reimbursement rate they can pay the provider. In addition to their parent share of cost, some regulated providers may choose to have the parent pay the difference in the maximum reimbursement rate CCS pays and the provider’s published rate. Texas Rising Star Providers are not allowed to charge the parent the difference between the maximum reimbursement rate CCS pays and the provider’s published rate. This may be a consideration in choosing a provider. Effective June 1, 2007, no providers may charge the difference to parents participating in the Choices program, the Food Stamp E & T program, parents in Protective Care, or parents who have a zero ($0) income.

To assist you in finding a regulated provider, you will find a list of all regulated providers at the website for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Another referral source for regulated provider care is to call 2-1-1 (toll free) to talk with a child care resource and referral representative. Cell phone used need to dial (361)882-4636 for 2-1-1 services.

Choosing the right child care provider for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make. Trying to find child care can be a very difficult task. You want your child to be happy and most importantly, safe. The following check list will help you in making that decision.