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Accepts assistance

Affordable Daycare in Kentucky

Full-time care at a center costs a median of $128 a week for a baby and $120 for a preschooler in the middle Kentucky county (2022). Families who qualify can get help paying through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and the daycares listed here accept it.

daycares that accept child care assistance listed
1,644
towns
246
towns have their own affordable daycare page
106
of all Kentucky daycares
67%

Map of Kentucky: each dot is a town with daycares that accept child care assistance, sized by how many are listed

Accepts assistance
What puts a daycare on this listThe state record says it accepts child care subsidies, or it says it accepts child care assistance or vouchers.Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

Cost and help paying

What daycare costs in Kentucky, and help paying for it

Infant care at a center, per week, in the middle Kentucky county (2022)
$128
The median of 120 county medians, from $90 in the lowest county to $222 in the highest.
Preschool-age care at a center, per week, in the middle Kentucky county (2022)
$120
The median of 120 county medians, from $83 in the lowest county to $189 in the highest.
Head Start or Early Head Start centers in Kentucky
278
Free for children from birth to 5 in families who qualify, by income or because they receive public assistance.
How to apply: Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)Head Start in KentuckyDaycare cost in Kentucky, by age and county

County prices: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices, 2022 (median full-time weekly price).

Kentucky

Largest towns for affordable daycare in Kentucky

Louisville418 accept assistanceLexington157 accept assistanceBowling Green42 accept assistanceFrankfort28 accept assistancePaducah28 accept assistanceOwensboro26 accept assistanceElizabethtown23 accept assistanceFlorence23 accept assistanceHopkinsville23 accept assistanceNicholasville21 accept assistanceRichmond21 accept assistanceCovington20 accept assistance

Programs

Programs in Kentucky

Counts come from the state record and what each daycare says it offers. A daycare without a tag may still offer the program; ask.

ProgramListed
All daycares2,445
Take infants1,085
Child care centers2,241
Accept subsidy1,644
In-home daycares204
Christian & church daycares225
Montessori schools56
Preschools & pre-K1,682
Early morning daycare393
Part-time daycare88
Drop-in daycare12
After-school care1,309
Bilingual daycare10
Head Start278

The Kentucky state record

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services licenses daycares in Kentucky.

License list
The state's public list of licensed child care
Ages served
The ages on each license
Inspections
Every visit the state publishes back to 2023
Cited rules
Each cited rule, in the state's own wording
Search the Kentucky state records

Before you enroll

Paying for daycare in Kentucky

  1. 1

    Apply for assistance first

    Your state decides who qualifies and how much it pays. Apply through the state's child care assistance office before you choose a daycare.

  2. 2

    Ask about the copayment

    Most families pay a share of the cost. Ask the daycare whether it charges more than the state pays, and how much.

  3. 3

    Ask about open subsidy spots

    Some daycares cap how many children on assistance they take. Ask whether a spot is open now.

  4. 4

    Check the license record

    Open a listing for its state license and, where the state publishes it, the inspection record.

Kentucky

Cost, inspections and ratios in Kentucky

Daycare cost in KentuckyWeekly prices by age and countyWhat Kentucky inspectors citeThe rules cited most, and what they meanStaff-to-child ratios in KentuckyHow many children each adult may care forTour checklist for KentuckyQuestions to ask when you visit

A to Z

All 246 Kentucky towns with affordable daycare, A to Z

A8 towns
B22 towns
C29 towns
D6 towns
E10 towns
F14 towns
G9 towns
H18 towns
I2 towns
J5 towns
K1 town
L19 towns
M21 towns
N6 towns
O5 towns
P13 towns
R9 towns
S24 towns
T3 towns
U2 towns
V4 towns
W15 towns
Y1 town

Nearby

Nearby states

Virginia2,729 accept assistanceIndiana2,591 accept assistanceTennessee2,184 accept assistanceIllinois188 accept assistanceMissouri69 accept assistanceOhio15 accept assistanceWest Virginia1,183 daycares

Questions

Questions about affordable daycare in Kentucky

How many daycares that accept child care assistance are in Kentucky?

1,644 daycares that accept child care assistance are listed in 246 Kentucky towns. Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

Which Kentucky town has the most daycares that accept child care assistance?

Louisville, with 418 listed. Next are Lexington (157) and Bowling Green (42).

How do I apply for child care assistance in Kentucky?

Apply through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), run by the Kentucky Division of Child Care. Income limits change each year, so check the current limits on the state's site.

Is there free daycare?

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.

Does a daycare that accepts assistance cost more?

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.

How does child care assistance work?

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 Kentucky child care assistance office.

Can I get free daycare?

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.

Who licenses daycares in Kentucky?

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services licenses daycares in Kentucky. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.