Virginia will help pay for child care if your employer joins

Virginia now has a fund that adds state money when an employer helps pay for a worker’s child care. The employer, the family, and the state split the cost of a child care slot. The family pays a copay based on income, and the state pays up to 40% of what’s left. The money goes to the child care provider or to a regional group that handles payments, not to the employer.

You can’t apply on your own: your employer has to sign up. Families with household incomes at or below Virginia’s median can take part. Money goes out first come, first served, and businesses with fewer than 50 workers get priority. The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation runs the program under the name Ready Together VA. It is starting small. If the Richmond area is selected for the first phase, local organizers are aiming for about three employers and 20 children. Enrollment is expected to start in May 2027.

Del. Adele McClure and Sen. Lashrecse Aird carried the bills. The House passed McClure’s bill 91–7 and the Senate passed it 40–0. Lawmakers had written a version into the 2025 budget, but Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed that program language. Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the law in April 2026, and the state budget adopted June 29 provides $25 million from the general fund.