Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
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Virginia program

Help with the other children’s child care

Virginia can help pay for child care while a parent works, looks for work or trains.

What it is

Virginia can help pay for child care while a parent works, looks for work or trains.

Care for siblings can be hard to arrange during treatment. Virginia pays part of the cost while a parent works or studies; a family on Medicaid or WIC passes the income test outright. Being at the bedside is not on the list of activities.

Eligibility rules
  • Listed activities include work, job search, education or training leading to work, protective services and assigned work activities.
  • Families receiving Medicaid or WIC are deemed to meet the income test.
  • Help is for children under 13, or older with a disability. A family on Medicaid or WIC automatically meets the income test; otherwise the line is 85% of state median income. Sitting with your child in hospital is not a qualifying activity for a new case, but an existing award usually runs its full 12 months.
What you get
  • Payment toward child care at an approved child-care service.
  • At least 12 months of help once approved, subject to listed exceptions.
What the rules cover
  • The local office sets the family copayment. Funding and available places can limit access.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the local Department of Social Services about the Child Care Subsidy Program through CommonHelp.
  2. Bring the children’s identity documents, work or training details, and any Medicaid or WIC notice.

The local Department of Social Services · Official page ↗

If you decide to apply
  • A decision is due within 30 days of a signed application.
  • Job search has a conditional 90-day period, with one additional 90-day period for extraordinary circumstances. The office confirms how that rule and any existing award apply to your family.
Good to know

A parent who has stopped work to be at the bedside cannot start this new; a family already getting it asks the local office about continuing. Approval does not guarantee a place at a provider.

Other details
  • The social worker can discuss participating child-care services near home or the hospital.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“If we need care for our other children, would our activities qualify? Could you help check the copayment, available places and whether bedside care changes the answer?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand how the rest of the family’s care can work 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 say plainly that the family is on Medicaid or the nutrition programme.

Your social worker

The social worker can name providers near the hospital or near home.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The local Department of Social Services
Ask your social worker
“We have other children at home while one of us is at the hospital. Can we get child-care help, and does being at the bedside count as an approved activity?”

How to apply

First step: Apply at the local benefits office and say the family is already on Medicaid if it is.

  1. Apply at the local office and say the family is on Medicaid, which satisfies the income test.
  2. Ask what happens to the approved activity while a parent is at the bedside.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply at the local benefits office; say the family already has Medicaid if it does.

What to gather

  • Proof of work, study or job search
  • The other children's identity documents
  • The Medicaid or nutrition-programme notice

How long: A decision is due within 30 days of a signed application.

What a yes looks like

An approval naming a provider and a copayment, running at least 12 months.

What a no looks like, and the next move

A refusal on the activity test. Ask what would satisfy it, and ask about the hospital's own sibling support.

Watch out

  • Being at the bedside is not one of the listed approved activities; ask the office how it reads that.
  • Approval does not find a place; participating providers fill up.
  • The 2026 income table was not published, so the local office has the figures.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Subsidised child care for at least 12 months once approved, decided within 30 days, with Medicaid or nutrition-programme families counted as income eligible.

  • $12 — Months of help once approved
  • $30 — Days to decide an application

Covers: Payment toward child care with an approved provider

What it costs the family: Usually a copayment set by the local office.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
a family receiving Medicaid or the nutrition programme for women and children is deemed to meet the income test; the 2026 table was NOT FOUND
Activity
work or job search, education or training leading to work, protective services, or assigned work activities
Period
a minimum of 12 months, subject to listed exceptions
Decision
within 30 days of a signed application

The trap: The approved activities are work, job search, education or training, protective services and assigned work activities. Being at a sick child's bedside is not on that list. That is not the same as saying the help stops during a hospital stay, but ask the local office plainly rather than assuming.

Where I read this

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