How Much Does DHS Pay for Child Care in Oregon?

In Oregon, DHS pays child care providers up to $2,083 per month per child in 2026 through the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) program, now run by the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC). That top figure applies to full-time infant care at a certified center in the highest-paying part of the state. What DHS actually pays for your child depends on four things: the child’s age, the provider’s licensing status, how many hours of care are authorized each month, and the zip code where the care happens.¹

The dollar amounts below are ceilings. DELC will not pay above them no matter what the provider charges, and if a provider’s private rate is higher, you cover the difference. A provider also cannot charge an ERDC family more than they charge private-pay families.¹

Maximum Monthly Payments by Provider Type

Rates took effect January 1, 2026. The figures below are full-time monthly maximums (136–215 hours of care) in Rate Area A, which covers the Portland, Bend, Eugene, Corvallis, Monmouth, and Ashland metro areas.

Licensed Providers (Rate Area A, Full-Time)

Certified Center: Infant $2,083 · Toddler $1,987 · Preschool $1,563 · School-age $1,585 · Special needs $2,083
Certified Family Home: Infant $1,831 · Toddler $1,675 · Preschool $1,477 · School-age $1,150 · Special needs $1,831
Registered Family Home: Infant $1,233 · Toddler $1,133 · Preschool $1,033 · School-age $933 · Special needs $1,233

Standard (Unlicensed) Providers (Rate Area A, Full-Time)

Standard Center: Infant $1,562 · Toddler $1,490 · Preschool $1,173 · School-age $1,189 · Special needs $1,562
Standard Family: Infant $1,110 · Toddler $1,020 · Preschool $930 · School-age $840 · Special needs $1,110

A license-exempt provider who completes additional training and registers with the Oregon Registry can qualify for an enhanced rate that sits between the standard and licensed tiers. Qualifying requires current infant and child CPR and first aid certification, abuse-reporting training, a current food handler card, and at least eight hours of child care training every two years.²

How the Three Rate Areas Change the Number

Your rate area is determined by the provider’s zip code, not your home address.¹

Rate Area A, the highest: Portland, Bend, Eugene, Corvallis, Monmouth, and Ashland metro areas.
Rate Area B: Salem, Medford, Roseburg, Brookings, and areas outside the metro cores of Eugene and Portland.
Rate Area C, the lowest: balance of state.

The geographic difference is large. Infant care at a certified center drops from $2,083 in Area A to $1,500 in both Area B and Area C. School-age care at a certified center falls from $1,585 in Area A to $800 in Areas B and C.¹

Part-Time and Hourly Care

If your child is authorized for fewer than 136 hours per month, the full-time flat rate doesn’t apply. DELC uses a part-time flat rate for 63–135 hours and an hourly cap for 1–62 hours.

For licensed providers in Rate Area A, the lowest-hour tier runs from $6.00 per hour for preschool at a registered family home up to $14.67 per hour for toddler care at a certified center. Part-time flat rates in the same area run from $700 per month for school-age care at a registered family home up to $1,562 per month for infant care at a certified center.¹

Standard unlicensed providers use a two-tier structure instead: hourly billing for 1–157 hours and a flat monthly rate for 158–215 hours. Hourly rates for standard family providers in Rate Area A run from $5.40 for preschool to $6.50 for infant and special needs care.¹

Special Needs Rates

Children with documented special needs qualify for higher maximums regardless of age. In Rate Area A, the special needs rate at a certified center matches the infant rate at $2,083 per month full-time. In Rate Areas B and C, that same special needs certified center rate is $1,500 per month. The specific bump varies by provider type and area.¹

What the Family Pays

DHS pays the provider the authorized maximum minus your copayment. The copayment itself goes directly to the provider, not to the state.³

Copays are set on a sliding scale by household size and gross income. For a family of four, the monthly copay under the most recently published schedule runs from $0 up to $120:

$0 – $2,679 monthly income: $0
$2,680 – $4,018: $5
$4,019 – $4,688: $10
$4,689 – $5,358: $20
$5,359 – $6,028: $60
$6,029 – $9,305: $120

Families currently receiving TANF may qualify for a $0 copay. The copay can also drop to $0 for up to three months after TANF closes, if the closure happened because someone in the household earned enough to leave the program.³

The second cost to plan for is any gap between the ERDC ceiling and your provider’s actual rate. If a certified center in Portland charges more than $2,083 per month for infant care, the state pays $2,083 and you pay the rest on top of your copay.

Who Qualifies for These Payments

At initial application, your household’s gross monthly income must be below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. For 2026, that works out to:⁴

Household of 2: $3,607 per month ($43,280 per year)
Household of 3: $4,553 per month ($54,640 per year)
Household of 4: $5,500 per month ($66,000 per year)
Household of 5: $6,447 per month ($77,360 per year)
Household of 6: $7,393 per month ($88,720 per year)

Countable resources must be below $1,000,000. Once approved, you stay eligible during your 12-month certification period and at recertification as long as your income remains below 250 percent of FPL or 85 percent of Oregon’s state median income, whichever is higher.³ Families receiving TANF are categorically eligible and qualify automatically.⁵

Income alone isn’t enough. Someone in the household must be working, searching for work, or enrolled in a qualifying educational program (high school, GED, undergraduate, vocational, or graduate coursework at a school that qualifies for federal financial aid). Combined work and education hours can’t exceed 215 per month, and education hours can’t exceed authorized work hours.⁶

Which Children Are Covered

Coverage normally runs from birth through age 12. Children with documented special needs or disabilities can stay covered through age 18. If a child turns 13 during a certification period, they remain on the billing form through the end of that period.¹

How Payment Actually Reaches the Provider

DHS does not pay the family. Payments go to the provider after care has been delivered, once both the parent and provider sign a monthly billing form certifying the hours attended. The Direct Pay Unit issues payment by electronic transfer or check once a correctly completed form is received. Your copay is collected by the provider as part of their fee arrangement, and failing to pay it can put your eligibility at risk.

Before any payment flows, the provider must be listed and approved by DELC. Licensed providers generally have a shorter path; license-exempt providers must finish three pre-service trainings (child care health and safety; recognizing and reporting abuse and neglect, with an exception for certain relatives who don’t live with the child; and infant and child CPR and first aid) before approval.⁷ If you pick a provider who isn’t yet approved, you’ll pay out of pocket until the listing is complete.

1
Department of Early Learning and Care. ERDC Child Care Maximum Rates
2
Department of Early Learning and Care. How to Qualify for Enhanced and Special Rates
3
Legal Information Institute (LII). Oregon Admin Code 414-175-0050 – Income Limits and Copay Amounts
4
Federal Register. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines
5
Cornell Law School. Oregon Admin Code 414-175-0025 – Categorical Eligibility for ERDC
6
Oregon Department of Human Services. Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) and SNAP Application
7
Department of Early Learning and Care. ERDC Training