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DCYF outlines working‑connections overhaul: center subsidy rates rise, attendance billing shifts, rulemaking ahead
Summary
DCYF staff told ELAC that 2026 legislative changes to Working Connections will increase center subsidy rates (centers to the 85th percentile of the 2024 market rate survey on July 1, 2026), change attendance and billing rules, and trigger phased rulemaking and provider training through 2027.
DCYF assistant secretary Nicole Rose briefed the Early Learning Advisory Council on implementation steps following the 2026 legislation affecting Working Connections child care subsidies and related policies.
"Center rates are increasing an average of 22%," Rose told the council as she reviewed a timeline of IT, training and rulemaking steps required for implementation. The July 1, 2026 change will move licensed center subsidy rates to the 85th percentile of the 2024 market rate survey; state law then requires licensed centers and family homes to achieve the 75th percentile of the market rate survey by July 1, 2027.
Staff emphasized that several changes will require rulemaking, provider training, and systems work. Among the notable operational changes: a move to daily attendance‑based billing (days attended, paid holidays, and professional development closure days count as attended), the removal of enrollment‑based payment, new co‑pay groupings tied to updated state median income tables in October, and phased timelines for centers (October 2026 billing under new rules) and family homes (July 2027). DCYF staff said licensed‑exempt family‑friend‑neighbor billing is not changing.
Nicole Rose and licensing staff acknowledged provider concerns about how claims will be filed and how absences and partial attendance will be handled. On those points Rose said the social service payment system will remain the claims channel but that new operational rules are still under development; DCYF plans to publish FAQs, provide webinars, and offer written guidance to providers.
DCYF projects that families’ Working Connections eligibility thresholds will remain at 60% of state median income; staff cited an example that the current threshold for a family of three is roughly $70,000 until the October update. Staff also noted regional variation in market‑rate survey outcomes and reminded providers the state requires minimum response rates for the surveys to produce valid regional estimates.
DCYF urged providers to monitor the agency’s working connections web page for updated billing guides, FAQs and webinars and said it will continue provider supports and training over the summer and into 2027.
