To qualify for Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services program as a new applicant, your family’s gross annual income must be at or below 50 percent of the State Median Income (SMI) for your family size. For a family of four, that ceiling is $55,368 as of March 2026. Families already enrolled get more room at annual redetermination, when the limit rises to 85 percent of SMI. These are the CAPS income limits Georgia families are measured against, and the rest of this article walks through the numbers, what counts as income, and the other conditions that sit alongside the dollar figure.1Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Maximum Income Limits by Family Size
Initial Income Limits by Family Size
The federal government updates SMI figures each October 1, and CAPS adjusts its table accordingly. The following gross annual limits are effective as of March 2, 2026, and reflect 50 percent of SMI:1Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Maximum Income Limits by Family Size
- Family of 1: $28,792
- Family of 2: $37,651
- Family of 3: $46,510
- Family of 4: $55,368
- Family of 5: $64,227
- Family of 6: $73,086
Larger families follow a flatter curve. Each member beyond six adds roughly $1,661 to the limit, rather than the roughly $8,859 jump between smaller family sizes. A family of eight, for instance, caps at $76,408. For a quick monthly estimate, divide the annual figure by 12: a family of four would need to earn about $4,614 per month or less to stay within the initial threshold.
Higher Ceiling at Redetermination
Once you are enrolled, CAPS does not cut you off the moment your paycheck grows. At your annual redetermination, the income limit rises to 85 percent of SMI. A family of four can earn up to $94,126 per year (about $7,844 per month) and remain eligible; a family of two can earn up to $64,006.1Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Maximum Income Limits by Family Size
This two-tier structure creates a common source of confusion. If your income sits between 50 and 85 percent of SMI, you would not qualify as a new applicant, but you can keep your benefits if you are already enrolled. That gap is a good reason to stay current with redetermination paperwork rather than letting a case lapse and reapplying from scratch.
Federal regulations also require that CAPS not redetermine your eligibility sooner than 12 months after approval. During that window, your family keeps benefits even if income fluctuates, as long as it stays below 85 percent of SMI.2eCFR. 45 CFR Part 98 – Child Care and Development Fund
Who Counts in Your Family Size
The row of the table that applies to you depends on how CAPS defines your family unit. It counts a parent with legal, biological, or day-to-day responsibility for children in the home, plus everyone that parent is responsible for. That includes:3Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Policy Manual
- Biological, adopted, or stepchildren age 17 or younger, plus any children under your legal or physical guardianship.
- A spouse living in the home, always. Unmarried partners who share a biological or legal child also count as one unit.
- A spouse or parent temporarily away for work, military deployment, training, or education.
Some shared households split into separate units. An unmarried couple with children only from prior relationships and none in common counts as two units. In multigenerational homes, grandparents and parents are separate units as long as the biological parent keeps legal custody. If the grandparents hold legal custody, the biological parent in the same home is not counted in the grandparents’ unit.
What Income CAPS Counts
CAPS uses gross income, before taxes and deductions, for every adult in the family unit. The counted sources go well beyond a paycheck:3Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Policy Manual
- Gross wages and salary from all adults 18 or older, including commissions, tips, cash bonuses, and military base pay.
- Net self-employment income after allowable business expenses.
- Unemployment compensation, worker’s compensation, veteran’s benefits, and Social Security payments.
- Alimony, regular ongoing child support, rental income, dividends, retirement and pension payments, capital gains, and regular lottery payments.
Self-employment is where families most often miscalculate. CAPS starts with net income, but it disallows some deductions you might take on a tax return, including prior-year net losses, non-business mileage, and principal payments on equipment or property. Personal expenses paid from a business account, health insurance premiums, and retirement plan contributions also do not count as deductions. If your Schedule C bottom line differs from what CAPS calculates, the CAPS figure controls for eligibility.
Converting Pay Frequency to a Monthly Amount
Because the official limits are annual, CAPS converts every pay schedule into a monthly figure using these multipliers:3Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Policy Manual
- Weekly pay: multiply by 4.3333
- Bi-weekly pay: multiply by 2.1666
- Semi-monthly pay: multiply by 2
When earnings vary significantly from one period to the next, CAPS staff average your income over the past six months instead. They total earnings for that span, divide by the number of pay periods, and then apply the appropriate multiplier.
Income Alone Is Not Enough
Falling within the income limit gets you past one gate, not the whole fence. Three other conditions matter.
An Activity Requirement
At least one parent must be working, in school, or in job training for a minimum of 24 hours per week on average. Activities combine: 15 hours of work plus a part-time education program can satisfy the requirement. Each credit hour counts as two activity hours to account for study time, so 12 credit hours meets the threshold. Parents age 20 or younger enrolled in middle school, high school, adult education, a technical certificate, an associate’s or bachelor’s program, or WorkSource Georgia training are exempt from the 24-hour minimum. At 21, the requirement applies regardless of enrollment.3Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Policy Manual
Your Child’s Age
Your child must be 12 or younger. The exception covers children with a qualifying disability and children with a court-ordered case plan requiring child care, who can receive benefits through age 17.4Georgia.gov. Apply for Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Program
A Priority Group
At initial application, you must fall into at least one recognized priority group. Priority categories include children in Child Protective Services cases or DFCS custody, families experiencing domestic violence, families of children with disabilities, families of children in Georgia’s Pre-K Program, TANF participants, grandparents raising grandchildren, minor parents, student parents, and families with very low income as defined by CAPS, among others. If funding is limited, an otherwise-qualified family outside every priority group can be denied. This requirement applies only at initial enrollment, not at redetermination.3Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. CAPS Policy Manual
What Approved Families Actually Pay
CAPS covers a portion of child care costs, not always the full amount. Accepted families owe a weekly copayment tied to how their income compares to federal poverty guidelines:5Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. Section 3 – Child Care Affordability
- At or below 10% of poverty guidelines: no copayment
- Above 10% to 50%: 3% of family income
- Above 50% to 100%: 5% of family income
- Above 100%: 7% of family income
Federal rules cap the copayment at 7 percent of gross income no matter how many children are in care. Fees are figured weekly and rounded down to the nearest dollar. Copayments are waived entirely for children in DFCS custody, for parents who are 17 or younger at the time of eligibility determination, and for families at or below 10 percent of poverty guidelines.