12 Organizations That Offer Economical Child Care for Working Parents

Child care can be costly in the United States, and solving rising child care costs can be complicated, as various economic forces play a role. Thankfully, there is more help available than you may realize. Learn where to find organizations that make child care services affordable for working parents and how to evaluate them to ensure they meet your family’s needs.

Determining the Best Child Care Programs for Working Parents

These child care programs aim to assist employed parents by offering dependable, safe and cost-effective child care. However, they may differ in other areas. These are the main factors that contributed to the compilation of this list:

Family Needs

Every household faces unique challenges. A single father with multiple jobs who lives far away from relatives will have different child care needs than a couple living in a rural area and working night shifts. Assess your situation to find a program that aligns with your work schedule.

Program Scope

Some programs provide child care amenities, while others offer subsidies or discounts. Some offer both. Child care programs have capacity limits and specified availability. Find out what services a program includes to evaluate its fit more effectively.

Eligibility

Most organizations extending child care assistance have criteria for approving applications to ensure they serve their intended audiences and manage resources. Know a program’s requirements to see whether you check all the boxes.

Logistics

Child care programs can be straightforward or complex. Some may require considerable paperwork to prove your eligibility, while others may require less convenient payment methods. Understand how your prospective program works to get approved more quickly, minimize expenses and make sure it fits seamlessly into your daily life.

Provider Legitimacy

Think tanks call for reform to improve access to affordable child care for most parents. However, in addition to affordability, health and safety standards are a must for any organization offering child care. State and local governments vet child care programs meticulously for licensure. Verify whether a child care provider’s license is valid to entrust your little one to law-abiding professionals.

Geographic Coverage

Programs offering on-site child care services are available only to those who can physically access them. Local government-sponsored options have geographical restrictions, as their funds are only for residents. Consider how your location factors into your search. 

How Can You Find Affordable Child Care for Working Parents? A Roundup of Your Best Options

Here is a glimpse of the leading organizations that promote child care affordability in the United States.

Organization	Program Type	Notable Feature	Cost/Financial Aid
The Greater Philadelphia YMCA	Nonprofit	Discounts	Financial support of 10% to 50% for nonmembers and up to 75% for members
National Child Care Association	Nonprofit	Access to resources	Varies by location and income level
Santa Barbara Foundation	Nonprofit	Network of child care providers in the county	Varies by location and income level
United Way of Larimer County	Nonprofit	Grants	15% ceiling on child care spend in a year
ChildCare.gov	Government organization	Central hub of resources on child-care-specific government programs	Varies by jurisdiction
Aflac	Employer-sponsored child care program	On-site day care services	Varies by program
Arkansas Children’s Hospital	Employer-sponsored child care program	Child care subsidies	Varies by program
ASI	Employer-sponsored child care program	Day care center	Some paid child care benefits have usage limitations
Citi	Employer-sponsored child care program	Tuition discounts	Some paid child care benefits have usage limitations
George Mason University	Employer-sponsored child care program	Year-round child care	Financial assistance through government agencies, charities and other sources
Military Child Care	Military child care assistance program	Military-operated child care programs	Free child care programs operate on a first-come, first-served basis
Child Care Aware of America	Military child care assistance program	Fee assistance for community-based day care services	Varies by military branch

12 Providers of Affordable Child Care for Working Parents

Discover the roles these 12 organizations play in advancing child care affordability.

1. The Greater Philadelphia YMCA — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Greater Philadelphia YMCA offers early care, state-funded pre-K and school-age care programs for kids in the Greater Philadelphia region. These equal opportunity programs are inclusive and open to all children. Its centers have a rating of STAR 3 and STAR 4 in Pennsylvania and are on pace to receive an accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

The Greater Philadelphia YMCA’s child care programs qualify for financial assistance. This support ranges from 10% to 50% for nonmembers and up to 75% for members. The amount you can receive depends on the available funds and your household income. It distributes funds on a first-come, first-served basis.

Key features: 

• Has a team of well-trained and certified teachers
• Serves the needs of non-native-English speakers and children with disabilities
• Praesidium-accredited to prevent abuse

2. National Child Care Association

The National Child Care Association (NCCA) is a trade organization that has been championing the interests of licensed child care and early education program providers since 1987. This nonprofit provides an interdependent network of professionals and businesses motivated to advance child care affordability.

TOOTRiS provides a universal platform for parents to choose from child care programs that their employers could sponsor. This software vendor allows fellow NCCA members to sign up at no cost, without a long-term contract and keep 100% of their earnings. This business model presents no risk to child care providers and promises convenience to busy parents.

Key features: 

• Advocates for child care equitability
• Curates organizations offering diverse child care services
• Offers discounted member services

3. Santa Barbara Foundation — Santa Barbara, California 

Santa Barbara Foundation focuses on helping organizations that directly assist working families in Santa Barbara, California. It collaborates with private and civic leaders and other key local stakeholders to expand child care spaces and workforces. These efforts aim to mitigate the chronic shortage of child care facilities affecting families from all income levels.

This organization offers grant programs for child care providers. It raises funds through donations to award scholarships to nonprofit applicants, which use the money to finance their child care programs. Contacting the foundation gives you access to its network of providers within the county.

Key features:

• Accepts financial requests from child care providers
• Supports projects focusing on professional development and family engagement
• Produces reports about the state of the county’s child care facilities

4. United Way of Larimer County — Larimer County, Colorado 

United Way of Larimer County is instrumental in growing the Larimer Child Care Fund and making it more accessible to people in need. It has teamed up with the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County to help working parents leverage Larimer Child Care Connect to access child care scholarships. This platform assists families seeking affordable child care providers by offering grants and helping them find and obtain the support they need within Larimer County, Colorado.

The fund aims to extend scholarships to families ineligible for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. It guarantees recipients will not have to spend more than 15% of their income on child care for an entire year.

Key features: 

• Clarifies the program’s eligibility criteria
• Facilitates the distribution of child care scholarships
• Highlights the tax benefits of donating to the fund

5. Office of Child Care

The Office of Child Care is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It provides a central database of all state, territory and local child care sites.

ChildCare.gov’s intuitive search feature makes it easy to find government early care and afterschool programs where you live. It primarily supports low-income families, but anyone can benefit from its resources.

Key features: 

• Administers the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
• Pursues other impactful initiatives to promote affordable child care
• Extends technical assistance to CCDF administrators

6. Aflac — Columbus, Georgia

This insurance provider’s employee benefits package includes child care. Aflac has an on-site day care center at its Columbus, Georgia headquarters. This multinational company also helps working parents based elsewhere find affordable local child care services.

Key features: 

• Promotes healthy work-life balance
• Values financial wellness and coaching
• Offers educational scholarships

7. Arkansas Children’s Hospital — Little Rock, Arkansas

Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock is a medical institution that provides on-campus child care assistance to hospital employees. It subsidizes child care for its Northwest Arkansas workforce.

Key features: 

• Uses the Total Rewards Program to promote good well-being
• Offers a wellness program with financial well-being support
• Entitles non-enrolled employees to benefits after experiencing a qualifying event

8. ASI — Trevose, Pennsylvania 

Trevose, Pennsylvania-based company ASI partners with Lots of Love Learning Center to offer 14 weeks of paid child care. This on-site day care center has been around since 1986, is fully accredited and has a staff of 12 specializing in caring for kids of various ages. Lots of Love Learning Center offers full-day, half-day, and before-school and after-school programs.

This benefit is available for employees returning to work after giving birth or adopting. The only requirement is applying within the first six months of the child’s birth or adoption. Alternatively, you can use a different facility and receive a reimbursement for 12 weeks’ worth of day care services based on Lots of Love Learning Center’s current costs.

Key features: 

• Fully accredited on-site day care center 
• Advertises a clear-cut day care subsidy policy
• Offers maternity and paternity leave

9. Citi

Citi teams up with Bright Horizons to provide employees 20 days of backup care per child per year. This benefit lets you arrange temporary care for your kids at one of the Bright Horizons day care facilities or find a credentialed and vetted caregiver to come to your home. Registration is required, reservations are a must and co-pays apply.

Citi’s Preferred Child Care Enrollment is perfect for working parents hoping to find more affordable day care services. It entitles you to an exclusive tuition discount of up to 10% and allows you to skip the waitlist at your chosen participating Bright Horizons center.

Key features: 

• Provides wide-ranging educational tools and resources for kids at every learning stage
• Offers special programs at Citi’s children’s centers
• Gives access to Sittercity’s network of nannies, housekeepers and pet care providers

10. George Mason University — Fairfax, Virginia

George Mason University staff and faculty members can enjoy year-round child care. The George Mason University Child Development Center provides full-time care to kids ages two to five. Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This educational institution helps working parents find community-based child care providers and obtain financial assistance through various sources, including government agencies and charities. 

Key features: 

• Extends on-campus child care services to student parents
• Offers parenting support and education
• Provides free preschool and early intervention services for children with special needs

11. Military Child Care 

Military Child Care is a child care assistance service offered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for military and DoD-affiliated families. It provides information about all available military-operated child care programs, including Child Development Centers, Family Child Care, 24/7 Centers and School Age Centers.

This service gives eligible families access to child care in their neighborhood. The fee assistance program gives parents funds to partially offset the costs of a community-based child care service, a convenient option when you cannot receive military-operated child care due to waitlists or distance.

Key features: 

• Accepts and manages requests online
• Offers an at-home full-time child care fee assistance program for eligible military families with nontraditional work hours
• Gives child care discounts for Navy Reserve Force families during drill weekends

12. Child Care Aware of America 

Child Care Aware of America connects military and DoD families with its on-the-ground network of Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) organizations. CCR&Rs serve as conduits between working parents hoping to find affordable child care services and local providers.

This national organization helps you discover child care and fee assistance programs available based on your military branch. Examples include the Navy Exceptional Family Member Program and the Army Child Care Fee Assistance programs.

Key features: 

• Supports every part of the child care system
• Conducts child care research using data gathered by its network
• Works closely with policymakers to solve child care challenges

Find the Right Child Care Fit for Your Family 

The abundance of charitable organizations, philanthropic individuals, and generous state-funded and employer-sponsored programs provides working families with affordable child care options. This list is only a fraction of what is available, but it is substantial enough to help you find adequate support for your pressing child care needs.