Implement Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program (CCAP)

[hua7450]

Program

Implement the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program (CCAP) — Wisconsin's CCDF-funded child care subsidy, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF).

Wisconsin Shares helps eligible low-income families pay for child care while parents work or participate in approved activities. It is the state's implementation of the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) block grant.

Regulatory Authority

• Wis. Stat. § 49.155 (Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program)
• Wis. Admin. Code ch. DCF 201 (Child Care Subsidy)
• Wisconsin Child Care Subsidy Program Manual (DCF)
• Wisconsin CCDF State Plan (FFY 2025–2027)

Eligibility (to verify during implementation)

• Income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level at initial application; continuing eligibility up to 85% of state median income (SMI).
• Parent/caretaker in an approved activity (employment, education/training, or W-2 participation).
• Child under 13 (or under 19 with special needs / court-ordered supervision).
• Wisconsin residency; child citizenship/immigration status per CCDF rules.
• Asset test (verify current threshold).

Benefit Structure (to verify)

• Subsidy = lesser of provider's price and the county/regional maximum reimbursement rate, minus the family's copayment.
• Maximum rates vary by county group, provider type (licensed group/family, certified, in-home), child age, and quality tier (YoungStar rating).
• Copayment determined by family size, income, and number of children in care.

Scope

• Parameters: parameters/gov/states/wi/dcf/ccap/
• Variables: variables/gov/states/wi/dcf/ccap/
• Tests: tests/policy/baseline/gov/states/wi/dcf/ccap/
• Reuse federal CCDF infrastructure (is_ccdf_immigration_eligible_child, is_ccdf_asset_eligible, child_care_subsidy_programs.yaml) and wire into the federal child_care_subsidies aggregation.

Notes

DCF also administers Wisconsin Works (W-2), already partially modeled under wi/dcf/works. Wisconsin Shares should live alongside it under wi/dcf/ccap.