Oregon program
Help paying for child care
Help paying for child care while you work, study or meet another approved activity [Employment Related Day Care].
What it is
Help paying for child care while you work, study or meet another approved activity [Employment Related Day Care].
Treatment can disrupt child care for the whole family. ERDC pays part of the cost while a parent works or studies, and it keeps going during approved medical leave. There is a waiting list, so giving up an existing place is hard to reverse.
Eligibility rules
- From March 1, 2026, a new family generally needs income below 200% of poverty. The office confirms its published dollar limit and which income counts.
- For continuing eligibility, the limit is the higher of 250% of poverty or 85% of state median income.
- Approved activities include work, school, medical leave from either, cash assistance and certain child-welfare programs.
What you get
- Payments toward approved child-care costs.
- The possibility of keeping care during approved medical leave from work or school.
What the help includes
- The office sets a household copay. Charges above DELC’s child-care payment limit can be additional.
- From March 1, 2026, the entry limit is below 200% of poverty. Continuing families use the higher of 250% of poverty or 85% of state median income. The office confirms the current dollar limit and copay for your household. The copay is capped at 7% of monthly income, but extra child-care charges can apply. Care is generally for children under 13; ages 13–17 need qualifying special circumstances.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the social worker to review ERDC through ONE and the waiting-list process.
- Have income, work or school status, leave documentation and the children's ages and care arrangements ready.
Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care; applications through ONE. · Official page ↗
After you ask
- The office reviews activity and income, then explains eligibility and waiting-list placement.
- An approval identifies the copay and payments toward the care arrangement.
Good to know
Being at the hospital does not count as work on its own; approved medical leave from a job does. Ask the office which your arrangement is before you rely on it.
Other details
- A waiting-list exception may apply after recent TANF or TA-DVS, a Child Welfare referral, a return to ERDC within two months, or an eligible contracted slot; the office also checks the applicable income screen. Approved medical leave can matter, but a child’s hospitalization alone does not establish your activity exception. Ask the social worker to help confirm your leave arrangement, whether care can continue and the current wait. No processing or place-offer date is guaranteed by this card.
Official sources
“Could ERDC help us keep child care while treatment changes our work or school schedule? What would it cost, what limits apply, and could you help request it if our activity qualifies?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand how to keep other care arrangements stable during treatment.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Apply and ask what counts as an approved activity in your situation.
Your social worker
The social worker can write what the treatment schedule requires.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Department of Early Learning and Care.
- Ask your social worker
- “Can you help me apply for child-care help for my other children, and write what the treatment schedule requires of me?”
How to apply
First step: Ask about Employment Related Day Care before you end any existing child-care arrangement.
- Ask about Employment Related Day Care before ending a child-care place.
- Ask specifically whether your situation counts as approved medical leave.
- Ask to be put on the waiting list on the day you first ask.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Apply at ONE.Oregon.gov and ask about Employment Related Day Care.
What to gather
- Household income
- Who is working or on leave, and the proof of it
- The other children's ages and care arrangements
How long: No published decision time; there is a waiting list.
What a yes looks like
A copay amount and payments to the provider.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Usually income or the activity test. Ask which, and about the waiting list either way.
Watch out
- The waiting list has exceptions for recent TANF or TA-DVS, recent ERDC return, Child Welfare referrals and qualifying contracted slots. An invitation normally allows 45 days to respond.
- Caring for a child in hospital is not expressly on the list of activities. Ask what counts before giving up a place.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Help with child-care costs. The starting income limit is 200% of the federal poverty level from March 1, 2026; the ongoing limit is the higher of 250% or 85% of state median income.
- $200/month — Initial income limit as published (percent of the federal poverty level)
- $250/month — Ongoing income limit as published (percent of the federal poverty level, or 85% of state median income if higher)
Covers: Payment towards child-care costs · Care continuing during approved medical leave from work or school
What it costs the family: Agency copays are capped at 7% of monthly income; a child-care provider may charge amounts above the state rate. The agency confirms the current dollar schedule and your total cost.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Income
- under 200% of the federal poverty level to start; the higher of 250% or 85% of state median income to continue
- Activity
- working, in school, on medical leave from work or school, receiving cash assistance, or in certain child welfare programmes
Expect friction on: There is a waiting list · Caring for a child in hospital is not expressly listed as a qualifying activity
The trap: The published rule covers approved medical leave from work or school. Caring for a child in hospital is not expressly named, so ask what counts before you give up a child-care place.
Where I read this
- DELC — Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) — Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care, read September 10, 2026