In 2022, Best Starts for Kids, a King County voter approved initiative, launched the new Best Starts for Kids Child Care Subsidy Program, dedicating more than $160 million over six years to ease the cost of care for King County families ineligible for existing subsidy programs.

The Best Starts Subsidy has served over 2000 children since it began in 2022 and has already resulted in positive impacts for families. A survey of families receiving the Best Starts subsidy showed families had more freedom to pursue career goals or advancements; saw reduced stress and improved quality of life; and had increased ability to pay for basic needs, including food, healthcare, child care, formula, diapers, and transportation.

The program is funded by King County and administered by BrightSpark Early Learning Services.

To be eligible for the subsidy, families must meet the following criteria:

• Reside in King County
• Have a gross household income (before taxes and withholdings) that falls below 85% of State Median Income (SMI)
• Have one or more children under the age of 12-years
• Choose a licensed child care provider
• Be ineligible for Working Connections (WCCC) subsidy or not well served by existing subsidy programs

You can also view this downloadable PDF for eligibility information!

Eligibility Info

It depends on your family. The amount of subsidy for each child is based upon:

• The family’s household size

• The family’s gross income (before taxes and withholdings)

• The child’s age

• The amount of care needed (average number of hours per week)

• Type of child care program (subsidy rates differ between family child care and center-based programs)

• For school-age children attending center-based programs: the program’s published tuition amounts

For some children, attending some programs, this subsidy may cover the full tuition costs associated with that child’s enrollment. In other cases, the Best Starts Subsidy will not cover the full cost of care. Families and providers work together to determine tuition amounts which must be covered by the family. Providers are permitted to require enrolled families to cover all costs not covered by the Best Starts Subsidy.

The average subsidy amount is about $1,200 per month. Some subsidy amounts are much smaller, especially for school-age children, and some monthly subsidy amounts are larger. This vary depending on the factors listed above.

Contact our team for help!

• Call or text: (206) 208-6865
• Email: support@bskchildcare.org

If your family appears eligible, you will be added to our waitlist pool.

We continue to invite families to complete the full application as funding and openings become available.

If you are selected to complete the full application for subsidy (that requires income and residency verification), you will receive an invitation via email and text message.

Completing the Eligibility Screener form does not guarantee you will be approved for child care subsidy support.

Wait times vary and depend on available funding and openings. We are not able to predict when a family will receive an invitation to apply.

We will send you an email & text message when an application becomes available. The invitation will be open for 30 days.

The application will also appear in your Family Portal.

If you do not see an application in your Family Portal, no action is needed at this time.

Yes!

Update your contact information if it changes so we can reach you when it is time to apply.

• If you need to update your contact information, please do so in your Family Portal profile.
• If you need help updating your contact information, please contact our team at (206) 208-6865 or support@bskchildcare.org

No. Once you have submitted the Eligibility Screener, you do not need to submit it again unless we ask you to.

All families who are interested in the Best Starts Subsidy must complete this updated eligibility screening. Invitations to apply for enrollment will be selected from the updated waitlist pool of eligibility screening  submissions.

An email communication with this information was sent in early March 2025, to families who were on the 2023 waiting list, as received by BrightSpark.