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Child home care allowance

You can be paid child home care allowance if you have a child under 3 years of age who does not attend municipal early childhood education. You can get the allowance starting 160 working days after the child was born. The child will then be about 6 months old. The right to child home care allowance starts right after the period of parental allowance even if you take your annual holiday.

The caregiver can be

  • the child’s parent
  • married to or cohabiting with the parent or guardian of the child
  • a hired caregiver or other person who cares for the child.

You can also get child home care for other siblings under school age who do not attend municipal early childhood education. However, you cannot get the allowance after the family's youngest child has reached the age of 3.

Child home care allowance is not available for children who attend municipal early childhood education. This means, for example, that if you take a paid annual leave but do not withdraw your child from municipal early childhood education for the duration of the leave, you cannot get child home care allowance payments for that period.

Child home care allowance includes

  • care allowance, which is not affected by the family's income
  • care supplement, which is affected by the family's total income
  • a municipal supplement (not paid by all municipalities).

Eligibility

As a rule, child home care allowance is applied for by the child's parent or other guardian. In some cases the applicant may also be some other person who mostly looks after the child and lives in the same household. An adoptive parent can also apply for child home care allowance.

Other benefits may affect the amount of the child home care allowance. For instance, parents who have another child become eligible for daily allowances for parents. See how other benefits affect the child home care allowance.

Adoptive parents can take child care leave and get child home care allowance during the leave. They can be paid child home care allowance also for children over 3 years of age. The allowance is paid until 2 years have passed from the date on which payment of parental allowance started or until the child starts school.

If a child is placed with a family on or after 31 July 2022, the family can get child home care allowance until two years have passed from the date of placement.

In the event of a multiple birth, the care allowance component of the child care allowance is paid for one of the children as the full amount due for a child under 3, while an amount equal to the increase for siblings is paid for the parents’ other children under 3. The care supplement is paid for one child only.

Family structure does not affect child home care allowance.

Family structure does not affect child home care allowance.

Family structure does not affect child home care allowance.

Last modified 10/11/2023