Connecticut Care 4 Kids for Grandparents: Childcare Subsidy and Getting Paid as a Relative Provider

Two Ways Care 4 Kids Helps Kinship Families

Care 4 Kids is Connecticut's childcare subsidy program, run by the United Way of Connecticut on behalf of the Office of Early Childhood. For kinship families it works two ways: a working relative caregiver can receive subsidized childcare, and a separate relative (like a grandmother) can get paid as the childcare provider.

Understanding which side of the program applies to your family — and the requirements for each — is the key to making it work.

If You're the Working Caregiver Who Needs Childcare

When an aunt, uncle, or younger relative is raising a child and working or attending school, Care 4 Kids can cover most of the childcare costs. Kinship caregivers are classified as a priority population for enrollment, which matters when the program has waitlists.

Income limits: Initial eligibility is capped at 50% of the State Median Income. At redetermination (12 months in), you can earn up to 85% SMI and stay enrolled. Family copayments are on a sliding scale from 0% to 7% of household income.

Activity requirement: You must be working, in school, or participating in an approved training program. Caregivers receiving DCF foster payments or those exempted due to age or disability may have different intake routing.

If a Grandparent Wants to Be the Paid Provider

Here is where most families get confused, because there are two sets of requirements running simultaneously.

A grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling who lives outside the child's household can register as an unlicensed relative provider through Care 4 Kids and get paid to care for the child. But the provider must meet all of these conditions:

1. Be at least 20 years old
2. Complete the Provider Orientation Program (POP) — a pre-service training requirement
3. Pass criminal background checks for everyone in the provider's household
4. Maintain a posted emergency plan at the care location
5. Care for no more than three children total, with a maximum of two under age two

The working relative (the parent or caregiver with the Care 4 Kids subsidy) must also meet the income and activity requirements on their end. Both sides have to qualify independently.

A Common Scenario

A grandchild lives with an aunt who works full-time. The aunt applies for Care 4 Kids as the working caregiver. The child's grandmother — who lives in a separate home — registers as the unlicensed relative provider. The grandmother gets paid through Care 4 Kids to provide after-school and summer care, while the aunt's childcare costs are subsidized.

This setup can work if both sides meet their separate requirements. The provider cannot be approved until the required orientation and background checks are complete.

How to Apply

The working caregiver applies through the Care 4 Kids Parent Portal or by contacting Care 4 Kids directly. The relative provider registers separately through the provider intake process.

Applications require:

• Proof of the caregiver's work or training activity
• Income documentation for the caregiver's household
• The child's birth certificate and Social Security number
• The provider's completed background check and POP certificate

Processing can take several weeks. If you're also applying for TFA and HUSKY at the same time, keep the paperwork separate — Care 4 Kids runs through the Office of Early Childhood, not DSS, so different agencies handle each application.

How Care 4 Kids Connects to Other Programs

HUSKY Health enrollment can streamline parts of the Care 4 Kids application. DSS and Care 4 Kids use separate application processes and eligibility rules; ask both programs how they treat the other benefit before budgeting a combined amount.

If you're piecing together multiple programs for a kinship child, our Connecticut kinship financial help guide maps the eligibility rules, documents, and renewal timelines for each one so nothing falls through the cracks.

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