Considerations in assessing client fees in early childhood education and care
Sibling Discount Effective August 1, 2026
The maximum fee for early childhood education and care is 335 euros per month for the youngest child, and the minimum fee is 32 euros. The fee for the second child is a maximum of 40 percent of the fee for the youngest child, i.e., a maximum of 134 euros per month. The fee for subsequent children is 20 percent of the fee for the youngest child in the family. The fee for children other than the youngest in the family is determined based on the calculated full-time early childhood education and care fee for the youngest child. (Act on Early Childhood Education and Care Client Fees, Section 8)
Sibling discount from August 1, 2024
The maximum early childhood education fee for the youngest child is €311 per month and the lowest fee is €30. The fee for the second child is up to 40% of the fee for the youngest child, i.e. up to €124 per month. For subsequent children, the fee is 20% of the fee for the youngest child. The fee for children other than the youngest in the family is determined on the basis of the calculated full-time early childhood education fee for the youngest child (Act on Early Childhood Education and Care Customer Fees § 8).
The Impact of the Need for Services on Client Fees in Early Childhood Education and Care
| Need for service | Fraction of the fee for daily all-day care |
|---|---|
| Full-day care (more than 5 hours per day) every day | 100% |
| Full-day care (more than 5 hours per day) 15 days per month | 75% |
| Full-day care (more than 5 hours per day) 10 days per month | 50 % |
| Part-time daycare, with a maximum of 20 hours per week | 50 % |
| Part-time daycare, with care provided for up to 5 hours per day | 60 % |
| Early childhood education supplementing preschool, up to 5 hours per day | 60 % |
| Part-time daycare, up to 5 hours per day, 15 days per month | 45 % |
| Early childhood education supplementing preschool, up to 5 hours per day, 15 days per month | 45 % |
| Part-time daycare, up to 5 hours per day, 10 days per month | 30 % |
| Early childhood education supplementing preschool, up to 5 hours per day, 10 days per month | 30 % |
| Early childhood education that supplements preschool, more than 5 hours per day | 80 % |
| Early childhood education supplementing preschool, more than 5 hours per day, 15 days per month | 60 % |
| Early childhood education supplementing preschool, more than 5 hours per day, 10 hours per month | 40 % |
Contracted days
The number of care days each month (contracted days) may be set at 10 or 15 days. Such an agreement is concluded with the daycare centre for a period of no less than five (5) months. The contracted days will become available at the beginning of every calendar month. Changes to the need for services should be discussed with the Manager of an early childhood education and care centre. Requests for changes are submitted in eVaka.
For 10 days of care, 50% of the monthly fee will be assessed. For 15 days, the fee is 75% of the monthly fee. The fee stipulated in the contract will be collected for the early childhood education and care services even if not all planned dates are actually used. If more dates than agreed are used, an additional daily fee to correspond to the actual use will be collected. If the contract term is repeatedly exceeded, the contract will be changed to a full-time care agreement
Non-attendance
Should a child be absent from early childhood education and care for at least 11 days in a calendar month owing to an illness, only one half of the monthly fee will be collected. Should a child be absent from daycare for the entire calendar month owing to an illness, no fee will be collected.
Should a child be absent for another reason for the entire calendar month, one half of the monthly fee will be collected. In any other circumstance, the full monthly fee will be collected. If the family has agreed on contracted days, any and all absences will be applied to those days when care was arranged for.
Temporary care
The cost of temporary early childhood education is a fixed 20 euros / day / child. A child may benefit from five (5) temporary care days a month at most. You may inquire for temporary early childhood education and care directly from the Manager of an early childhood education and care centre. Temporary early childhood education and care has no effect on Kela family allowances.