(Posted July 10, 2026)
Application Information
The UO Childcare Subsidy application for the 2026–27 academic year is now open and will be available through June 30, 2027.
This student fee-funded program provides financial assistance to eligible student parents to help ease the cost of childcare. It is available to all UO students, including international students. Learn more on the Eligibility Guidelines page.
Students who apply in July or August can expect to hear if they have been admitted to the program within three weeks of applying.
Claims are normally due on the 24th of each month for reimbursement around the first week of the following month. The July 10 opening date of this application and three-week July/August application processing timeframe may impact participants’ ability to submit a July claim by the July 24 deadline. To address this, there will be an additional, mid-month deadline for August only: claims submitted by August 7 will be paid by the week ending August 21.
Changes for 2026–27 Program Year
The Basic Needs Program and ASUO worked together during the 2025–26 academic year to support the Childcare Subsidy, pursuing these goals:
- Provide reliable funding
- Reduce barriers to receiving the funds
In 2025–26:
- We removed the income qualification requirement and significantly increased reimbursement amounts. Utilization of this subsidy grew beyond our most optimistic projections, and the original budget was not sufficient to meet demand. ASUO provided additional funds so that the subsidy would remain available to participants for the entire program year.
- We received approval for a long-sought policy that allows exceptions to the Incidental Fee Charge requirement over the summer. This policy allows us to support continuous care for children of students who are unable to enroll in summer courses due to circumstances outside of their control, such as not receiving a Graduate Employee (GE) appointment or needing to take time to conduct research.
Going forward, we cannot rely on receipt of supplemental funding, and Basic Needs Program staff capacity has become more limited.
For the 2026–27 program year we are implementing changes based on these goals and developments:
- Participants who have substantially the same costs every week will now submit one claim form per term instead of one for every month they are seeking reimbursement. They will be approved for “Standard (Recurring) Costs.” Reimbursements will be made monthly based on the number of weeks of instruction in the month. They may change provider or rate one time per program year.
- Participants who expect to use more than one provider and/or have non-recurring charges may be approved for “Exception (Non-Recurring) Costs.” Once admitted to the program they will need to submit one claim for each month they are seeking reimbursement. Claims will function in mostly the same way as 2025–26 claims. “Non-recurring” participants may add up to three program providers per program year.
- The reimbursement rate will return to pre-2023 levels, when program utilization was similar to what it is today. Charges will be reimbursed at 40% instead of 50%. We know this will substantially impact participants’ budgets. We are making the change out of a commitment to our goals of providing reliable funding while reducing barriers to receive the funds.
- Age-based limits are now 40% of common non-subsidized rates in the community, to correspond with the reimbursement rate. These limits remain higher than pre-2023 levels.
Standard (Recurring) Costs Maximum Reimbursement Amounts
Child’s Age | Maximum Weekly Reimbursement for Program Participants |
|---|---|
Up to 24 months | 40% of Weekly Cost up to $183 |
24 to 36 months | 40% of Weekly Cost up to $178 |
3 to 5 years | 40% of Weekly Cost up to $141 |
Kindergarten to 12 years | 40% of Weekly Cost up to $128 |
Exception (Non-Recurring) Costs Maximum Reimbursement Amounts
Child’s Age | Previous Maximum Monthly Reimbursement | New Maximum Monthly Reimbursement |
|---|---|---|
Up to 24 months | 50% of invoice up to $919 | 40% of invoice up to $795 |
24 to 36 months | 50% of invoice up to $898 | 40% of invoice up to $776 |
3 to 5 years | 50% of invoice up to $711 | 40% of invoice up to $614 |
Kindergarten to 3rd grade | 50% of invoice up to $694 | 40% of invoice up to $555 |
4th grade to 12 years | 50% of invoice up to $686 | 40% of invoice up to $555 |
- As program funding allows, if a participant is not enrolled in summer coursework with an Incidental Fee, they may be eligible for reimbursement if they were enrolled during the preceding spring term and are pre-enrolled for the subsequent fall term
- Participants who do not submit a claim during a term in which they are both enrolled in courses and enrolled in the Childcare Subsidy will be dropped from the program after the last day of said term
- Only costs incurred while classes are in session are reimbursable
For full details, view Eligibility Guidelines for Childcare Subsidy 2026–2027.
Questions?
We encourage you to ask questions during one of our Childcare Subsidy Drop-In Sessions:
Session 1: Tuesday, July 14, 3:00–4:00 p.m. PT ( Session 1 Zoom Link )
Session 2: Wednesday, July 22, 10:30–11:30 a.m. PT ( Session 2 Zoom Link )