A Foundation for Action: Shared Solutions to Child Care Challenges in Kentucky
Following eight months of deliberations among 40 key stakeholders, the Kentucky Collaborative on Child Care released more than three dozen consensus-driven recommendations to strengthen access to affordable and high-quality child care in the Commonwealth.
The Kentucky Collaborative on Child Care is a partnership between the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Lift a Life Novak Family Foundation, and the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution. The partnership brought together stakeholders from around the state with different perspectives to identify shared solutions.
The group’s recommendations span public policy, non-profit and philanthropic action, and employer engagement to build a stronger economy and ensure working Kentucky families have more options and opportunities.
Stakeholders included business leaders, public policy professionals, workforce and economic development experts, attorneys, child care providers, advocates, nonprofit leaders, faith community leaders, and educators. The group collaborated from August 2024 through April 2025 and intends to continue working together to implement its shared solutions, including in Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session.
The Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership
The Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership is an innovative way for Kentucky employers to help workers afford quality child care and attract and retain top talent. Through this program, an employer can partner with the state to help reduce the out-of-pocket cost of child care for their employees. If the employer is willing to contribute financial assistance that goes directly to the employee’s child care costs, the state will match that assistance. For employers, this creates key opportunities:
A unique talent attraction and retention tool that is not available in most other states
A public-private partnership approach to providing a powerful employee benefit
An investment in their current and possibly future workforce
Survey data shows that working parents strongly favor employer-provided child care benefits.
Employees benefit from the program by seeing their out-of-pocket child care cost reduced, which helps them afford quality care for their kids and keep them in the workforce and with their current company.
Child care providers benefit through reliable payments from employers, the state, and their clients.
Finally – and most importantly – kids benefit through consistent access to high-quality care.
The Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership is a win-win for employers, workers, providers, and kids.
$2 million in matching funds are available fiscal year – so apply now!
Learn more and APPLY NOW for the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership on the Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ website.
APPLY NOW
Frequently Asked Questions
Federal and State Tax Guidance
Here’s how it works:
An employer agrees to assist an employee with the cost of child care through direct cash assistance paid to the employee’s child care provider. The amount of assistance is up to the employer.
The child care provider must be a licensed provider participating in the Kentucky All STARS quality-rating program.
The employer works together with the employee and their child care provider to submit the necessary information to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Visit: https://kynect.ky.gov/benefits/s/eccap-program
If approved, the Cabinet will match the employer’s contribution up to 100 percent and will make payments on the employee’s behalf directly to the child care provider. For example, if the employer commits $100 per month to the employee’s child care expenses, the state may match that contribution up to another $100, giving the employee up to a total of $200 in child care assistance for the duration of the contract.
Participation for employers, employees, and child care providers is 100% voluntary, and contracts may be cancelled at any time.
Restrictions and specific eligibility requirements apply.
Watch a video with the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services that details the program:
What Should Employers Do To Get Started?
Assess the child care needs of your workforce. To assist with this, the Kentucky Chamber has developed a series of recommended survey questions for employers to use.
Develop familiarity with the rules of the program and determine your company’s ability to comply with its administrative guidelines and eligibility requirements.
Employer Testimonials
CVG Airport: | Planters Bank: |