Basic Sliding Fee Subsidies
Minnesota's Child Care Assistance program operates on a sliding fee basis for providing child care tuition assistance. A family's co-payment starts at $5/month at less than 100% of poverty and gradually increases until the family is paying 19.7% of their income at the top of the sliding scale. The family is no longer eligible for sliding fee assistance when their income reaches 75% of the state median income.

CCR&R
Twenty-three agencies covering all Minnesota counties contracting with the Department of Children, Families and Learning to: provide child care and education information and a parent referral service; collect and maintain a database of providers and parents; compile and analyze supply and demand data and assist communities in developing needed child care services; provide and coordinate training and administer grants to improve the quality and availability of care; and to build community awareness, involvement, and solutions for quality care and education that's affordable and available for all Minnesota families.

Child care center
A program licensed by the MN Department of Human Services to serve children from 6 weeks to 13 years with full or part time early education and care. Centers may be operated under proprietary or not-for-profit status, independently, as part of a large chain of facilities, or by a church or other organization.

Early care and education
Experiences and relationships which enhance children's development and learning from birth to five years old. Whether the child's environment promotes development and enhances learning at home or in non-parental care depends on a number of factors including the quality of the child/parent or child/caregiver relationship, a stimulating but not stressful environment, good nutrition, health care, and special needs interventions.

Family child care
Care offered in the provider's home for up to 10 children, depending on the ages of the children. Family child care homes are licensed through their county. A group family license requires a provider and a helper who can then care for up to 14 children. Most family child care involves mixed ages of children.

Head Start
- a federal program for low-income families that provides child development, health services, and parent support and training. Head Start programs in some parts of Minnesota have expanded to provide full day services or have developed collaborations with community services such as child care, Early Childhood Family Education, and special education. Early Head Start grantees provide services for families with children birth to 3, including home visiting and child development.

Legal unlicensed provider
In Minnesota, providing child care for your own children, children related to you or children from one unrelated family does not require a license.

Non-traditional hour care
Also referred to as non-standard hour care is care outside the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. including evenings, nights and weekends or care provided on an intermittent basis.

Registered Provider
Providers who are not required to be licensed but who are receiving subsidies from Minnesota' Child Care Assistance Program are required to be registered with their county.

School-age Care
Daily programming and peer group activities with adult supervision for school-age children, kindergarten to eighth grade, before and after the normal school day. School-age care is provided by family child care providers, licensed child care centers, public schools, and community organizations.