Affordable Daycare in Iowa

33 daycares that accept child care assistance are listed in 23 Iowa towns. Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

Des Moines, with 4 listed. Next are Ames (3) and Cedar Rapids (3).

Apply through Child Care Assistance, run by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. It is for income-eligible parents of children under 13 (or under 19 with special needs) who are away part of the day for work, academic or vocational training, or PROMISE JOBS activities. Income limits change each year, so check the current limits on the state's site.

Some families can get it. Head Start and Early Head Start are free for children from families who qualify, and some states waive the family's share of the cost for the lowest incomes. Ask your state's child care assistance office what you qualify for.

Not by itself. Accepting assistance means the daycare takes payments from the state program; its own prices vary like any daycare's. Ask whether it charges more than the state pays, and how much you would pay.

Each state runs a child care assistance program, paid for in part by the federal Child Care and Development Fund. Families who qualify by income, and usually by working, looking for work or going to school, get help paying a daycare that accepts it; the help is often called a voucher or subsidy. Most families pay a share called a copayment, set by the state. Apply through the Iowa child care assistance office.

Some families can. States may waive the copayment for families with the lowest incomes, and Head Start and Early Head Start are free for families who qualify. Ask your state's child care assistance office what you qualify for.

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services licenses daycares in Iowa. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.