Subvention Scheme
Please Note: Regarding new applications from Childcare Services for the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) - the budget for 2009 is currently fully allocated.
Commmunity Childcare Subvention Scheme
This Scheme under the National Childcare Investment Programme aims to provide quality childcare services at reduced rates to parents in specific eligibility bands by subventing community childcare services.
This reduction is now available in a number of services and it is important that parents are made aware that they may be eligible. In particular it should be noted that families in low income brackets may not realise they are eligible for the Family Income Supplement or the GP visit or Medical card which would in turn allow them to access reduced childcare fees.
Parents may only access this scheme through community childcare services which have been approved to deliver this scheme by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The service must meet a number of criteria including minimum criteria of being open for no less than 3 hours and 30 minutes for 5 days a week for 46 weeks of the year. The minimum criteria have been revised recently for shorter hours services now including services that are open (continuously) for not less than 2 hours 15 minutes per day, not less than 37 weeks per year and generally not less than 5 days per week. In these cases reduced grant levels will apply.
There are 3 bands of eligibility for parents – Bands A, B and C.
Band A is the highest subvention rate and applies to parents in receipt of social welfare payments (see below) or participating in a scheme such as Community Employment, which demonstrates an underlying entitlement to same. Parents in receipt of any of the following payments are considered:
• One-Parent Family Payment
• Widow’s or Widower’s Pension
• Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance (previously UB or UA)
• Pre-Retirement Allowance
• Farm Assist
• State Pension (previously OAP or Retirement Pension)
• Blind Pension
• Guardian’s Payment (previously Orphan’s Pension)
• Illness or Injury Benefit
• Disablement Pension
• Invalidity Pension
• Disability Allowance
• Carer’s Benefit or Allowance
• Back to Work/Education Allowance
• Supplementary Welfare Allowance
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
Band B is the second highest subvention rate and applies to parents in receipt of:
• Family Income Supplement (F.I.S.)
• FAS Training Allowance
• Part-time Job Incentive Scheme
Band C is the third subvention rate and is intended for low-income working parents who are above the FIS threshold. Services are allowed some discretion to vary the application of this subvention to determine whether a parent qualifies as Band C, in general, a parent holding a medical or GP visit card would be expected to qualify. If the attending child has a medical card this will also make the family eligible for Band C subvention Rate.
Band D is the full rate payable for the childcare place by parents that do not come in under Band A,B or C.
31 community childcare services in Clare are now delivering or currently in process of delivering the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme.
For information on the Subvention Rates, please click here.
Please contact our office for more information on this scheme.
