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Berks Child Care Assistance: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

Child Care Works pays part of your daycare bill. Who qualifies in Berks, this year's income limits, the weekly co-pay, and how to apply in Reading.

Berks Connect Blog|Published October 28, 2026
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Child Care Works is the state program that pays part of your child care bill straight to the daycare while you pay a weekly co-pay, and in Berks you apply through the Early Learning Resource Center's Reading office. A family of four can apply with yearly income at or below $66,000, and each parent has to work at least 20 hours a week, or work at least 10 hours and attend training at least 10 hours a week.

You pick the daycare yourself, from the same daycares in Berks County every other parent uses, and the state pays it directly. Whether your family fits the rules is a question for the Reading office; the number is below.

What is Child Care Works?

Child Care Works is Pennsylvania's subsidized child care program for lower-income working families. The state pays all or part of the child care bill directly to the provider, and the family pays a weekly co-pay, also to the provider. If the provider's rate is higher than what the state pays, the provider may ask you to pay the difference.

In Berks the program is run by the Early Learning Resource Center for Region 13, which covers Berks and Schuylkill counties; Berks is served from its Reading office.

Who qualifies for Child Care Works in Berks County?

The family lives in Pennsylvania. Each parent or caretaker works at least 20 hours a week, or works at least 10 hours and attends training at least 10 hours a week. A parent under 22 without a high school diploma or GED who attends school full time also counts as meeting the work requirement. And the family's yearly income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and the table below turns that into dollars by family size.

A job that will start within 30 calendar days of signing the application counts, but the subsidy doesn't begin until the work begins.

Care is covered from birth until the day before the 13th birthday, or through age 18 for a child with a disability. The child has to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or otherwise lawfully and permanently living in the United States. And the subsidy covers the hours you're at work, in school or in training, so the daycare hours have to match those hours.

These are the state's income limits to apply, by family size, and the weekly co-pay for a family at exactly that income. Both come from the state chart in force since May 4, 2026, and lower incomes pay less.

Family size Yearly income limit to apply Weekly co-pay at that income
2 $43,280 $54
3 $54,640 $69
4 $66,000 $83
5 $77,360 $97

The limits for bigger families: $88,720 for six people, $100,080 for seven and $111,440 for eight. Once you're in, the income limit that applies to you goes up. At the yearly renewal it's 235 percent of the poverty guidelines instead of the 200 percent you applied under, with a second cap at 85 percent of the state's median income at any time. Ask the office what both come to in dollars for your family size.

Whether your family qualifies is the Reading office's call; call 484-651-8000 and ask. If your hours fall under 20 some weeks and over it in others, that's a normal question for the office, not a reason to skip applying. Expecting? Ask the office how to count the baby and when to add the baby to the application. If your child is three or four, two other free programs have their own rules: Pre-K Counts, for families up to 300 percent of the poverty guidelines, and Head Start, for families at or below the poverty line, run in Berks by the Berks County Intermediate Unit. free pre-K in Berks County walks through both.

What's the weekly co-pay?

The co-pay is your weekly share, paid to the daycare. It's set from a state chart by your income and family size, it covers every child in the family, it's due at the start of each week of care, and the office can't raise it before your yearly renewal, except to recover an overpayment. It's at least $5 a week unless it's waived for a family dealing with domestic violence or homelessness. Over a year it can't exceed 7 percent of your income, or 5 percent for a family at or below 100 percent of the poverty guidelines.

The table shows the co-pay for a family right at the income limit. At lower incomes, a family of four earning $40,000 pays $39 a week, and a family of three earning $35,000 pays $35. Set either number against what daycare costs in Berks County and you'll see why people apply. Beyond the co-pay, the daycare may also charge you the difference above the state's rate if its own rate is higher, so ask them what that number is.

At tax time, the federal child and dependent care credit is worth 20 to 50 percent of what you paid for care, depending on your income, and about 35 percent at the incomes in the table; it counts up to $3,000 of expenses for one child or $6,000 for two or more, with the 50 percent top rate beginning with the 2026 tax year. Pennsylvania adds a state credit equal to the federal one. Our post on what to bring to your tax appointment says what to have with you.

What do you bring, and how do you apply at the Berks office?

Gather these five things before you start.

  • Proof of identity for each parent or caretaker. A driver's license, passport, state birth certificate, Social Security card, or another form on the state's list.
  • Proof of where you live. Mail addressed to you, a lease, a utility bill or a driver's license.
  • Proof of who is in your family. A birth certificate, a custody order, a medical record or a written statement from a physician, or a school record.
  • Proof of income. Pay stubs, or the employment verification form your employer fills in, or the self-employment income form if you work for yourself.
  • A school or training schedule, if that's how you meet the hours.

For the child's age, citizenship, immunizations and the days and hours of care you need, your own signed statement is enough.

The Reading office is at 1138 Rockland Street, Reading, PA 19604, open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The phone is 484-651-8000, toll-free 833-229-6927, and the email is ELRC13@cscinc.org. The statewide Child Care Works helpline is 1-877-4-PA-KIDS (877-472-5437) if you'd rather start there.

Apply one of two ways.

  1. Online through COMPASS, the state's online benefits application, at compass.dhs.pa.gov. It's open any day at any time.
  2. On paper. The Child Care Works application comes in English and Spanish, and you send it to the Reading office by mail, hand delivery, fax or electronically.

Either way, sign it and send it the day you have it: coverage, if you're approved, reaches back to the date the office receives your signed application.

How long does it take, and is there a waiting list?

The office has 30 calendar days from receiving your signed application to decide, and once it has all your paperwork it decides within 10 calendar days. You get the decision in writing inside those 30 days. If you're eligible and funds are available, coverage is retroactive to the date the office received your signed application, though the state won't pay for care more than 30 days before your enrollment is authorized. A personal interview with the office follows within 30 days of the notice.

What if the money isn't there when you're found eligible? Then the child goes on a waiting list. The state sets a priority order for who comes off it first, and within that it's first come, first served. Coverage starts the day funding is available, and from the day the office tells you funding is available you have 30 calendar days to enroll with a provider or the child loses the slot, unless the delay was outside your control. Whether there's a list this week is a question for the office.

How do you find a Berks daycare that takes Child Care Works?

You pick the provider, and the office can't require a particular one. It can be a state-certified child care center or certified home-based program (a group or family child care home) that agrees to take part in the program. It can also be a grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling who is 18 or older and lives at a different address; that relative completes background clearances and pays a $24.95 federal clearance fee.

Shortlist on the daycares in Berks County page by hours, location and what other parents say. Then, on the state's provider search (the same COMPASS site, at compass.dhs.pa.gov/providersearch), open the filter called Financial Programs Accepted and tick Child Care Works (Subsidy Participation) to see which of them take the subsidy. Then call and ask whether they have a spot for your child's age and what the difference is, if any, between their rate and the state's.

Questions Berks parents ask about Child Care Works.

Can a grandparent be paid through Child Care Works?

Yes. A grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling who is 18 or older and lives at a different address can be your provider. The relative completes background clearances and pays a $24.95 federal clearance fee.

Do I need a daycare picked out before I apply?

No. You pick the provider, and the office can't require a particular one, so apply first and choose while the office works. Once the office tells you funding is available, you have 30 calendar days to enroll with a provider, and the state won't pay for care more than 30 days before your enrollment is authorized, so don't start paying a center on the assumption that it will.

Does Child Care Works cover a school-age child?

Yes. Care is covered from birth until the day before the 13th birthday, or through age 18 for a child with a disability, for the hours you work, study or train.

So this week: gather the five documents, sign the application online or on paper, and call the Reading office with any question about your own family. The money side of child care in Berks, this program included, is in our childcare guide's financial assistance section. Apply first and pick the daycare while the office works; the sooner the office has your signed application, the sooner coverage starts.

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