Child Care Scholarships (CCS) in San Antonio: How Workforce Solutions Alamo Helps Pay for Day Care (2026)

Day care can cost more than rent in San Antonio. The Child Care Services (CCS) program — also called Child Care Scholarships — exists for exactly that problem: if you are working, in school, or in job training, Workforce Solutions Alamo (WSA) may pay a large part of your child care bill directly, for up to 12 months at a time. In 2025 the program served 15,634 children in 9,102 families across the Alamo region (WSA’s own Community Impact report).

One honest fact belongs right at the top: there is a waitlist, and WSA says waiting times average 18 to 24 months. That is not a reason to skip applying — your place in line starts the day your waitlist application goes in, and it cannot start any other way. But it means you should apply now and line up other care for the months in between. This guide walks through both: the scholarship itself, and the faster doors at the bottom.

The 60-second qualification check

These are Workforce Solutions Alamo’s own “Do I Qualify?” questions. You may qualify if you can answer yes to all of them:

• Do you live in the Alamo region? Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar (San Antonio), Comal, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Kendall, Kerr, Karnes, Medina, McMullen, or Wilson County.
• Is your child a U.S. citizen or a legal immigrant?
• Is your child under 13? If not, a child with a disability can qualify up to age 19.
• Does the child live in your household with you?
• Are you working or in school/training enough hours? A single parent needs at least 25 hours a week of work, education, training, or a mix. In a two-parent home, both parents together need at least 50 combined hours a week. Looking for a job counts too — job-search care can start a case, limited to one per 12-month eligibility period, and you must be meeting the work/school hours by the end of the first three months.
• Is your family’s gross income at or below the limit for your family size? The table below (the current chart, October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027). “Family size” means the parents plus all children in the household.

Income limits (maximum gross income to qualify)

These limits are 85% of the state median income for Texas, from WSA’s official Parent Share of Cost chart for the current board year. If your income is close to the line, apply anyway and let a caseworker do the official math — pay can be counted in ways a table can’t show.

What you pay if you are approved

CCS is a scholarship, not always a full ride. Approved families pay a Parent Share of Cost — a sliding fee based on your income and family size, from WSA’s published scale. For one child it runs from about 2% of your income at the lowest incomes up toward 7% near the top of the income limits. WSA pays the rest, directly to your provider. Your provider must have an agreement with WSA to serve CCS families — licensed and registered centers and homes qualify, Texas Rising Star providers are the higher-quality tier WSA encourages families to choose, and in some cases a relative can be the paid provider.

How to apply — step by step

Applications run through the state’s Texas Child Care Connection (TX3C). The steps, in order:

1. Create a Parent Central account. Go to the Texas Child Care Connection for Families site (link below) and create your account.
2. Log in and open your dashboard.
3. Fill out the TX3C Eligibility Screener & Waitlist Application. This is the application that puts you on the waitlist — the most important step in this whole guide, because it starts your clock.
4. Wait for your turn. When WSA can enroll your family, a caseworker reviews your waitlist application. Average waits run 18–24 months; you can call the CCS office any time to check where enrollment stands.
5. Complete the Standard Application when invited. The caseworker emails you a request to submit it. Finish it inside the time window given and upload the documents they ask for — this step has a deadline, so watch your email.
6. Get your decision, then register in KinderConnect. If approved, the caseworker sends your approval; you register in KinderConnect with your case number, phone number, and last name, choose your provider, and care can start.

Questions at any step: call the WSA Child Care Services office at (210) 230-6300 or 1 (800) 204-7905 — phones are staffed Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Documents: what to have ready

WSA does not publish the full document checklist up front — your caseworker tells you exactly what to upload when your turn comes, and the forms page is clear that families should wait for CCS staff instructions before filling out program forms. Two things are worth doing early anyway:

• Have your child’s immunization record handy — the state application guide flags it as the document families most often have to hunt for.
• Expect to prove your hours and your home. WSA’s form set includes an Employment Verification form (your employer confirms your job and schedule) and a Residency form — including a version for families in shared housing, temporary housing, or homelessness, so an unstable address does not shut this door.

Already in the program? Keep your case alive

Once you are enrolled, report changes fast — WSA requires it within 14 calendar days: changes of address or phone, a new child care provider, changes in who lives in your home, any change in work or school status, and income or family-size changes that would push you over the 85% limit. Report by phone at (210) 230-6300 (follow the prompts) or by email at ccs.sc@wsalamo.org. Eligibility runs in 12-month periods, and there is a redetermination when yours comes up.

While you wait: care you can get sooner

An 18-to-24-month line means most families need a bridge. Start with our guide to free day care, Pre-K, and Head Start in San Antonio — Head Start and the public-school Pre-K programs enroll on their own calendars, much faster than the CCS line, and many families qualify for both. And child care is rarely the only bill squeezing a family: run our free 2-minute eligibility checker to see what else — food, rent, utilities, health coverage — your household may qualify for right now.

Want a person to sort out your options?

If paperwork is the wall, use Apply for Me: tell us your situation once, and we’ll prepare your personalized benefits guide and email it to you — usually within a day. It does not submit applications for you and can’t move you up the CCS waitlist, but it puts every program your family may qualify for — child care included — in one clear list, with the phone numbers and links to act on.

Helpful links & phone numbers

• Workforce Solutions Alamo — Child Care Services: workforcesolutionsalamo.org/childcare-main
• Do I qualify? + the official income chart: workforcesolutionsalamo.org/childcare-parents
• Start your application (Texas Child Care Connection for Families): childcare.texas.gov/for-families/child-care-scholarships
• Create your Parent Central account: childcare.twc.texas.gov — sign up
• The application steps, from the state: childcare.texas.gov — CCS application steps for families
• WSA CCS forms page: workforcesolutionsalamo.org/childcare-forms
• CCS office phone: (210) 230-6300 · 1 (800) 204-7905 (Mon–Fri, 8 AM–4 PM)
• CCS email: ccs@wsalamo.org · report changes: ccs.sc@wsalamo.org
• WSA office: 100 N Santa Rosa Street, San Antonio, TX 78207
• Our free day care & Head Start guide: Free Day Care in San Antonio (2026)

San Antonio Benefits is a free community guide, not a government agency. Program rules, income limits, and waitlist times come from Workforce Solutions Alamo and the Texas Workforce Commission and can change — the CCS office makes every eligibility decision.