Rhode Island TCI: Eligibility, Benefits, and How to File

Rhode Island TCI, short for Temporary Caregiver Insurance, replaces part of your paycheck for up to eight weeks when you take leave to bond with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member. For claims with a benefit year beginning in 2026, the maximum weekly payment is $1,103 and the minimum is $148.¹ The program is funded through employee payroll deductions and run by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training alongside the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance system.

Who Qualifies

Eligibility turns on your wages during the base period, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. You qualify if you earned at least $19,200 in total base period wages.²

Fell short of that? There’s a second path. You still qualify if you meet all three of these:

At least $3,200 in one base period quarter
Total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter
Total base period wages of at least $6,400

Your employer must have withheld the TDI tax from your paychecks for those wages to count. As of January 2026, the employee contribution rate is 1.1% on the first $100,000 in earnings.³ Self-employed workers and employees of certain exempt organizations aren’t covered unless they previously opted in.

What Leave TCI Covers

Two situations qualify. The first is bonding with a new child during the first year after birth, adoption, or foster placement. The second is caring for a family member with a serious health condition, meaning one that involves inpatient care or ongoing treatment by a healthcare provider.

The definition of family member is broad: child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, or parent-in-law. Bonding claims are documented through birth records or official placement paperwork. Caregiving claims turn on whether the family member’s medical situation genuinely requires your help with daily needs or medical oversight.

How Much You Get and For How Long

TCI pays up to eight weeks in a single benefit year.⁴ TCI and TDI share a combined cap of 30 weeks per benefit year, so weeks you use on TCI reduce the TDI weeks available if you later need a separate disability claim.¹

Your weekly benefit equals 4.62% of the wages paid to you in the highest-earning quarter of your base period.⁴ A highest quarter of $15,000, for example, produces a weekly benefit of about $693, subject to the $148 floor and $1,103 ceiling for 2026 claims.

Dependency Allowance

If you have dependent children, your weekly payment goes up. The allowance is the greater of $20 or 7% of your weekly benefit rate per child, capped at five dependents.¹

Taxes

TCI benefits are subject to both federal and Rhode Island state income taxes.³ That’s a departure from standard TDI disability payments, which are exempt from both. Your net take-home will be lower than the gross weekly rate, so budget accordingly.

Job and Health Insurance Protection

When your TCI leave ends, your employer must restore you to the same position you held before the leave, or a comparable position with equivalent seniority, pay, benefits, and other terms.⁵ The employer also cannot take adverse action against you for using TCI.²

Health coverage continues during leave as if you never stopped working, and you keep paying your usual share of premiums.⁵

If you also qualify for federal FMLA leave, the two run at the same time. FMLA covers employees who’ve worked for a covered employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours during that period, and work at a location with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.⁶ Workers at smaller employers still get the state-level TCI job protection even when FMLA doesn’t apply.

Notice to Your Employer

Give your employer 30 days’ written notice before taking TCI leave.² When the need is unforeseeable, notice as soon as practicable is enough. Skipping notice won’t disqualify you from benefits, but it can complicate reinstatement.

Documents to Gather Before You File

Social Security numbers for you and the family member you’re caring for (or the new child)
Names, addresses, phone numbers, and employment dates for every employer you’ve worked for in the last two years⁴
For bonding claims: proof of birth or legal placement papers from an adoption or foster agency
For caregiving claims: a completed medical certification (Form TCI-3G) signed by the family member’s healthcare provider, describing the serious health condition, expected duration of care, and why your presence is medically necessary⁷

The medical form requires the physician’s license number and full contact information. Illegible or incomplete forms are one of the most common reasons claims get delayed, so check every field before you send it in.

How to File

File through the Department of Labor and Training’s online portal or with a paper application. You cannot file in advance. Wait until your first day of leave, and then you have 30 days from that date to submit the claim.⁴ Miss that window and you can lose benefits for that leave period entirely, so treat it as a hard deadline.

After you submit, the department sends a confirmation notice and starts verifying wages and documentation. Most claimants receive their first payment within two to three weeks when the paperwork is complete. Payments arrive by state-issued debit card or direct deposit.

If Your Claim Is Denied

You can appeal any TCI decision. Appeals go in writing to the TDI/TCI Appeals Coordinator at the Department of Labor and Training.⁸ Your case is assigned to a hearing officer at the Board of Review, which operates independently from the department. At the hearing you can present documents, bring witnesses, or have someone represent you. Bring your medical certification, wage records, and any correspondence from the department.

1
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) and Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) FAQs
2
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. TDI / TCI For Employers
3
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. TDI and TCI Tax Information
4
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. Temporary Disability Insurance and Temporary Caregiver Insurance Programs
5
Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 28-41-35 – Benefits
6
U.S. Department of Labor. Family and Medical Leave Act
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Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. TDI Application Packet
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Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. For TDI / TCI Claimants