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Subsidized Child Care Assistance Program Policy Manual Chapter 4. Application, Eligibility Determination & Documentation

REVISED 04/27/2026

7 apply to some situations, such as protective services cases under the terms of interstate compacts or in response to court orders. When a child is in the custody of a Department of Social Services and lives with a relative or responsible adult in another state, it may be necessary to provide child care subsidy to a provider in another state. See Chapter 15, Approval and Enrollment Procedures for Licensed Facilities for more information.

VIII. CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS

To align with the provisions in the Childcare and Development Fund Act of 2014, only the citizenship and immigration status of the child, who is the primary beneficiary of the CCDF benefit, should be considered. The citizenship and immigration status of the parent should not impact the child’s eligibility for assistance. One of the following citizenship criteria must be met:

• Child is a U.S. Citizen; or • Child is a legal U.S. Non-Citizen (residing in U.S. legally). Examples of a child who is a legal U.S. Non-Citizen shall include but is not limited to: o Refugee o US Citizen/Naturalized Citizen o US Non-Citizen National o Documented Alien

In NC FAST, citizenship status shall only be selected when registering a new recipient. Child care workers shall not change the citizenship status of an existing recipient. Changing the status could affect the recipient’s eligibility for other programs. Citizenship status should only be changed if documentation is provided by the recipient.

Subsidized Child Care Assistance may be provided to non- citizens who are legal residents if the other eligibility criteria are met. Non-citizen families who are not legal residents (including the child and the parents) may receive services in the following instances if all other eligibility criteria are met.