Nine months have passed since the South Carolina Department of Social Services paused accepting applications for its childcare scholarship program.
The pause, which went into effect Dec. 1, 2025, resulted from limited state and federal funding insufficient to meet the program’s high demand. According to DSS, the department needed to right-size the program’s expenditures after federal relief funds from the COVID-19 pandemic were exhausted.
Applications have not been accepted for the SC Working Families Child Care Scholarship during the pause unless the family falls within specific federally protected categories. DSS now plans to launch an online waitlist Oct. 1 for families in non-federally protected categories to receive a scholarship.
“To support as many South Carolina families as possible, especially those with young children during their most critical years, we are taking deliberate steps to maximize the reach of available funding and reopen opportunities for working families,” said DSS State Director Tony Catone in a statement.
Read more about the childcare scholarship application pause
DSS has not received additional state or federal funding. Therefore, those on the new waitlist will only be selected for a scholarship as funding becomes available. The department needs more funding for the scholarship program before it can fully reopen the application process.
The South Carolina General Assembly did not approve the additional $20 million in recurring state funding DSS requested in the fiscal year 2026-27 budget for the scholarship program. Connelly-Anne Ragley, DSS’s chief external affairs officer, said the department is formulating its fiscal year 2027-28 budget request to submit to the General Assembly in early October, which will include funding for childcare.
Scholarship criteria
Families must meet specific criteria to be eligible for the Working Families Child Care Scholarship. New income guidelines go into effect on Oct. 1, reducing initial eligibility for the scholarship program to families at or below 55% of the state median income level.
Funding will be limited to two children per household who are between the ages of zero and five years old and not enrolled in kindergarten. Parents and guardians must be working, in school, in a training program, or temporarily/permanently disabled to qualify.
Once selected from the waitlist, the family will receive a link to apply for the scholarship program. They must have already selected and secured a child care provider in order to apply. Parents and guardians will have a strict deadline of 15 calendar days to complete the application process and submit all required documentation.
Eligible children will receive 12 months of childcare eligibility once approved. Families will be able to receive the scholarship until their child ages out of the program or they exceed the exit income of 85% SMI.
For more information, visit scchildcare.org.
Scholarship program dashboard
The South Carolina Department of Social Services recently launched an online dashboard for its childcare scholarship program. The dashboard includes data points and figures related to the program, including scholarship enrollment trends, payment distributions, application activity and more.
“The launch of the South Carolina Child Care Scholarship Program Dashboard reflects our agency’s commitment to giving families, providers and communities clear, accessible information about the programs that support them,” said DSS State Director Tony Catone in a statement.
To access the online dashboard, visit dss.sc.gov/about/data-and-resources/child-care-scholarship-dashboard.
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By the numbers
The South Carolina Scholarship Program served 18,711 children in August 2026. In comparison, the program served 32,156 children in December 2025, the first month of the application pause.
Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services’ Child Care Scholarship Dashboard
