Supporting the redesign of Maryland’s child care scholarship application
Maryland State Department of Education
June 2026 - September 2026
Why This Matters For Families
In May 2025, Maryland’s Child Care Scholarship (CCS) Program instituted a waitlist for the first time in recent years, as demand outpaced available child care funding. As of July 2026, an estimated 8,000 Maryland children are on the waitlist for these critical dollars that help cover the cost of child care.
In early 2026, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation that directed limited scholarship funds first to families with the greatest financial need, and next to child care workers themselves. With this step, Maryland joins six other states that give child care workers priority access to child care assistance to help retain and grow the child care workforce.
Implementation Challenge
The new law requires the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to prioritize waitlisted Child Care Scholarship applicants whose parent works at least 20 hours a week in child care or in an eligible public pre-K program that accepts CCS-enrolled children. This means child care workers should be among the first to receive scholarships when they become available. However, in the current application, MSDE was not collecting the information required to identify these workers and check their eligibility, though the new law now required them to do so. Without this information, MSDE cannot follow through on its commitment to prioritize scholarships for child care workers.
Our Approach
Over a six-week research sprint, the New Practice Lab interviewed nine families on the CCS waitlist—including single mothers, parents of children with special needs, and families placed back on the waitlist after redetermination. We also consulted nine stakeholders across MSDE policy leadership, case management, and customer service staff from the application platform vendor, as well as outside experts, to understand where the current application falls short.
The team audited the CCS Family Portal against usability best practices from the perspective of a first-time applicant and compared implementation decisions and design choices in other states that prioritize child care subsidy access for the child care workforce. NPL also drafted new application questions and tested them with waitlisted families, assessing for clarity, comprehension, and completion.
““I’m trying to tell you I’ve been struggling because, like I said, I’m a single mom. So for me, if I don’t have child care, then I can’t work. If I don’t, I can’t work, then we just don’t have nowhere to live.””
What We Learned
This work surfaced three main findings:
MSDE needs a clear definition of "child care employment" before implementation;
There are a range of approaches other states use to collect the necessary information needed to identify child care workers; and,
MSDE can make changes to the application so that it better reflects both families’ experiences and the policy intent.
Before implementation, MSDE will need to establish a working definition of what constitutes “child care employment"—for example, whether administrators qualify and how to handle applicants on paid leave without a 20-hour+ work history. This definition will influence what information should be collected from applicants and how.
Our policy scan identified a range of approaches for collecting the required information across states. Both Texas and Massachusetts amended their applications to collect the information needed to determine one's eligibility for child care employer prioritization. We recommended that Maryland consider a similar approach: adding a short, self-attested question set and a document upload section.
Our work also surfaced broader findings about the CCS family experience that will inform MSDE’s ongoing application redesign efforts, improve usability, and ensure that the application accurately reflects policy intent and CCS program goals and values. Through our conversations with families and other stakeholders, we identified several points of confusion about processes and requirements and found that timelines and procedures are sometimes misaligned with families' lived realities.
Eligibility parameters of other states that have implemented a child care work priority status for subsidies
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Mechanism
Waitlist priorityDefinition
"Employee or operator" of a child care center, FCC, large FCC, or eligible Title 7/Subt. 1A pre-K programWho's Included
Not restricted by role in statute; MSDE has not yet published guidance on teacher/admin/support-staff distinctionsHow Asked
In the application, Section 2 of the Act directs MSDE to build a new application collecting this info; not a separate track
Workforce Hours Threshold
20 hrs/wk — no general population precedent. MD's standard CCS eligibility only requires being 'working/employed,' with no stated hours minimum -
Mechanism
Waitlist priorityDefinition
Parent/caregiver working in the field of early education & careWho's Included
Broadest (educators, FCC providers/assistants, admin, curriculum, kitchen, maintenance, transportation, CCR&R, and Family Child Care System staff)How Asked
On the application, specific field; family provides employer's "P" Provider Number, cross-checked by EECWorkforce Hours Threshold
Not hours-based, uses wage/salary employment status instead -
Mechanism
Waitlist priorityDefinition
Individual employed by and working in a licensed child-care facilityWho's Included
Broad, minus an explicit carve-out — excludes owner/director unless their own child is served in a program they don't directly superviseHow Asked
On the application, the statewide CCS waitlist application (Parent Central) was updated to add specific questions/documentation requests; verified via pay stubs, an employer letter, or a TWC employment verification formWorkforce Hours Threshold
25 hrs/wk — same as TX’s general statewide CCS work-hours standard (40 TAC §809.50(a)(2)); Local Workforce Boards retain limited discretion to set a higher local threshold -
Mechanism
Income eligibility waivedDefinition
Verified employment (or ownership/operation as of 2026) at a licensed/certified child care programWho's Included
Broad (teachers, administrators, cooks, early intervention specialists)How Asked
No dedicated application, same DCC-90/kynect intake; caseworker verifies paystub, applies exclusion at eligibility calculation; no separate form; finalized in personWorkforce Hours Threshold
20 hrs/wk — same as general CCAP "verified employment" standard -
Mechanism
Income eligibility waivedDefinition
32+ hrs/wk in a role that directly cares for childrenWho's Included
Direct-care only; admins qualify if ratio-counted; owners excludedHow Asked
No dedicated application field, inferred from employer name on the standard CCA applicationWorkforce Hours Threshold
32 hrs/wk (28 hrs/wk if child has special needs) — same as general CCA work requirement -
Mechanism
Income cap raised + copay eliminatedDefinition
Employed as a "child care educator or child care staff" at a licensed center/FCC home/group FCC homeWho's Included
Broad. "Child care staff" is defined as any adult employed during operating hours, no role restrictionHow Asked
Existing application + additional process. Requires proof of having applied to standard CCAP within the previous 60 days; the pilot application itself is a separate, dedicated processWorkforce Hours Threshold
20 hrs/wk — same as general CCAP requirement*RI: Active Pilot; accepting applications through 7/31/2028
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Mechanism
Income exempted from cost-share + copay waived + eligible above standard ceilingDefinition
20+ hrs/wk, direct care or on-site support roleWho's Included
Broad. Direct care plus operational/ support staffHow Asked
Separate application, dual-track (employee's Submittable application + provider's independent application)Workforce Hours Threshold
20 hrs/wk, averaged monthly — same as general "employment need factor"** OK: Codified, time limited (sunsets 11/1/2028 unless renewed
Next Steps
The New Practice Lab shared our findings and recommendations with MSDE stakeholders in September 2026. Though the primary goal of this engagement was supporting Maryland’s efforts to implement child care employee prioritization for child care assistance, the findings also offer insights relevant to other states designing and delivering similar policies.
