CCTAP FAQs

Please see the timeline on our CCTAP home page.

Please see our our CCTAP 101 for students video.

CCTAP is available to current UW-Madison students enrolled in courses required to receive an undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree.

You may determine if meet basic eligibility requirements by using the CCTAP award estimator (UW NetID/password required).

We encourage all UW student families to submit an application, regardless of the eligibility status produced by the award calculator. If you are initially denied funding, you will have the opportunity to appeal the decision.

Please note, the following are ineligible to receive CCTAP:

• Postdocs – Research associates, postdoctoral fellows, and postdoctoral trainees are considered Employees-in-Training and are not eligible for CCTAP funding.
• University Special (nondegree) students (including guest auditors, visiting students) are not eligible to receive CCTAP funding unless they are enrolled in coursework required to apply to graduate or professional school.
• Online-only students.

We only need the first two pages of your federal tax return form 1040 (or 1040-NR) from the most recent available tax year. We only need to check these once per academic year.

If you do not have access to your tax return form, you may order a tax return transcript from the IRS. Click here to be redirected to the IRS website.

Unfortunately last year’s tax forms are the most current official financial information available. If you are denied CCTAP funding for income reasons, you may submit a CCTAP appeal through your online CCTAP account to explain special family circumstances including a reduction of income.

Yes, please apply for CCTAP as soon as possible, even if you do not yet have an original birth certificate or passport for your child yet.

However, we cannot issue a CCTAP invoice and send payment to your provider until proper documents are on file, so you will need this documentation by or before the invoice issue date.

We only need to see a birth certificate or passport once per child. We will original birth documentation for any new children added to your application.

CCTAP funding may be used for up to three children under the age of 12 per family each semester. The parenting student must be the biological parent, legal adoptive parent, or court-appointed legal guardian of the children receiving care.

Whether they are in care or not, please list all dependent children under 18-years old on your application as this impacts your family size and award.

CCTAP-eligible students can receive awards for up to 10 Fall/Spring semesters and 5 Summer semesters.

Parenting students that complete their degree and stay at UW-Madison to pursue an additional secondary degree are eligible for up to 4 additional Fall/Spring semesters and 2 Summer semesters.

Any applications beyond the semester limits listed above will be denied but students may appeal.

Yes. CCTAP may only be used at any licensed and/or accredited child care in Wisconsin.

Additionally:

• Family child care programs (providers who care for children in their own home) must also be able to prove eligibility to work in the US and be state licensed. Certified family providers may also be Satellite accredited or working towards accreditation with the Satellite Family Child Care System.
• CCTAP may be used for child care offered by a parochial school (private religious organization, such as a church or parish, etc.) as long as it is used for child care, before/after school, or summer programming.
• Nannies/babysitters are independent employees and are not eligible to receive CCTAP.
• Summer camps/programs must be state licensed. Children must be enrolled for a minimum of 6 weeks (part or full-time). Private or hourly lessons for sports, gymnastics, swimming, music, etc. are not eligible.

If you are unsure if your provider meets these requirements, please contact our office at occfr@provost.wisc.edu.

Yes, you may submit your application without a child care provider but we cannot process your application until you have a confirmed spot at a provider.

If you need assistance finding child care please see our page on Finding Child Care or contact occfr@provost.wisc.edu.

CCTAP is a child care award to help cover the costs for ongoing or contracted care at any licensed and/or accredited provider in Wisconsin.

KidsKare provides reduced cost hourly child care (available by reservation only) at our contracted network center, Little Chicks Learning Academy. Learn more about KidsKare here.

CCTAP awards are based on final application details, including family size, income, age of children, enrollment status, work status, etc.

Larger awards are available to students with the greatest financial need and the youngest children. Awards are typically smaller for school-aged children, part-time students, or if there is another parent available at home during weekday hours to provide care.

You may log into your CCTAP portal to determine if you meet basic eligibility requirements and get a preliminary award estimate (click on Award Estimator).

Payments are processed at the end of the semester after we can verify your student status and total cost of care. Payments are sent from UW Accounting directly to your child care provider via the payment method they have chosen.

Direct deposit takes approximately 4-7 days, while a mailed check may take 5-15 business days to arrive. Students are responsible for confirming that their provider has received the CCTAP award payment. If you have pre-paid your provider for your child care costs, you will need to discuss reimbursement with them. It is best to talk about this with your provider before the semester begins.

You are required to notify OCCFR within 60 days of the invoice payment date recorded in your CCTAP Portal if there is a delay in receiving a reimbursement or credit.

Please show your CCTAP award letter to your provider at the beginning of each term to notify them of the award and discuss a payment plan.

Many providers will deduct your CCTAP award from the cost of child care tuition and create a weekly or monthly payment plan to cover the remaining balance. Other providers may require full payment in advance and will reimburse the family after the CCTAP payment has been received.

Each provider does things differently, and we recommend that you discuss these options with them directly as early as possible.

Our staff reviews our budget and policies before every academic year, which often results in award restructuring.

Awards may also decrease if enrollment status or family income changes, when a child begins kindergarten, or if there is another parent at home more than 20 hours/week to provider child care.

Your CCTAP award is not affected by the amount of child care you use each week. We encourage families to maximize their CCTAP award and only use the amount of care they require.

For additional financial assistance options, please visit our Financial Resources for Students page as well as our Family Resource Library page.