Paying for Child Care in San Francisco So you’ve found some great child care options, now the question becomes: how do you pay for it? Child care can get pricey but fortunately San Francisco has a variety of different resources to help you pay for daycare and preschool, once you know how to get the most out of them. SF Preschool for All (PFA) — If your child is a 4 years old and you live in San Francisco County, you qualify for PFA which is generally equivalent to around 25% off tuition, regardless of income or background of your family. There are around 150 preschools that are part of PFA. Parents apply to these schools however they normally would for that school and get a discount off their tuition when their child turns 4. It’s that simple! More info here: http://www.first5sf.org/programs/parents-about-preschool-all/ Needs-based discounts — San Francisco offers a few free and discounted tuition preschool programs for low income families. The Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve children up to age 5. You can learn more about that here: https://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1899. Some of the SFUSD public schools also offer Pre-K at reduced rates to those who qualify. You can learn more about that here: http://www.sfusd.edu/en/programs-and-services/early-education/what-services-are-provided.html Children’s Council — This organization offers a service to connect eligible low-income families to child care assistance like CalWorks (cash aid and child care services for eligible California families). You can contact them to learn more: http://www.childrenscouncil.org/families/help-paying-for-child-care/ ---- Tell us in the comments: did you take advantage of any tuition assistance programs? Which ones?

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