Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration
Wisconsin Shares Handbook
To be eligible for Wisconsin Shares the child must meet the age requirements for child care.
At application, eligibility determination is based on the age of the child on the day of the child care request. To be eligible, the child must be:
Under age 13, which includes 12 years, 11 months or
Under age 19 with a verified disability and is not physically or mentally capable of caring for themself
At renewal, eligibility for child care is based on the child’s exact age on the date of the child care interactive interview and the date populated in the Request/Renewal/Review Date field on the Interview Details page in CWW. To be eligible, the child must be:
Under age 13 (which includes 12 years, 11 months) or under age 19 with a verified disability on the date of the child care interactive interview which meets the age requirement for the program. The child will remain an Eligible Child (EC) for child care after completion of the renewal.
If the child is age 13 or older, or younger than 19 with a verified disability on the day of the child care interactive interview, they become an Included Child (IC) for child care after the renewal is completed.
If the child is age 19 or older with a verified disability on the day of the child care interactive interview, they become an Excluded Child (XC) for child care after the renewal is completed.
During ongoing eligibility:
An eligible child who turns 13 years old or 19 (with a verified disability) during the eligibility period may continue to be eligible until the next renewal date.
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Note: When a newly eligible child is added to the case during ongoing eligibility, existing children who turn 13 or under 19 (with a verified disability) will remain eligible only until their original renewal date. An Action Item will be created following the Adverse Action date in the month prior to the child care review date month. The Action Item alerts the worker to run eligibility and confirm child care so following the original renewal date, the 13 year old will be considered an Included Child (IC) (see 3.5.1 and Process Help Chapter 18). No Action Item will be generated for a child who has turned 19 years old. |
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Example 1 (child turns 13 after renewal interview): Ella has a child care renewal due on April 30. The assistance group (AG) consists of Ella, her 12-year-old son TJ who turns 13 on April 12 and her 8-year-old son Alex. Ella initiates her renewal and child care interview on April 2. April 2 is populated in the Request/Renewal/Review Date field on the Interview Details page, but verification is not received until April 13 (after TJ turns 13). TJ is 12 years old on April 2 and is found to be an Eligible Child (EC) for the new eligibility period which begins May 1. After completion of the renewal, CWW determines both TJ and Alex meet the age requirements to be an EC for child care. |
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Example 2 (child turns 13 before renewal interview): Charlie has a child care renewal due June 30. His AG consists of himself, his 12-year-old daughter Stella and 5-year-old daughter Frankie. Stella turns 13 on June 4. Charlie contacts the local agency to initiate his renewal and his child care interview on June 15, which is the date populated in the Request/Renewal/Review Date field on the Interview Details page. Because this date is after Stella turned 13, she will be an Included Child (IC) for the new eligibility period beginning July 1 as she does not meet the age requirement to be an EC for child care. |
This section last updated 7/1/2026