A+ After School Program

Carefully review the information below and collect any required information. Use the Parent Checklist to ensure your form and required documents are complete.

ELIGIBILITY: All “latchkey” children enrolled in public elementary schools in K-6, are eligible to participate if they are living with parent(s), *guardian(s), or **foster parent(s)/guardian(s) who is/are:

• Employed and working during the hours of A+ operations; [After school – 5:30p]
• Working in the A+ Program;
• Attending colleges, universities, or other types of schools during the hours of A+ operations - class schedule including day/time is required; or
• Engaged in job training programs during the hours of A+ operations.

Please list both biological parents, regardless of marital status. Step-parent’s information (MUST be legally married) can be used in place of a 2nd biological parent. If work, school, or job training information cannot be provided, please provide an explanation as to why. Custody documents may be required. 
 *Legal guardianship paperwork is required.
**Foster documents are required to be submitted each school year.

PROOF OF ELIGIBILITY documents are required from both parents/legal guardians to determine eligibility for the A+ program. Please see below for acceptable documentation.

Employed parents:

• If you receive a pay stub and annual W2
  • Current pay stub (within 30 days) with hours worked indicated (if available).
  • If you are not able to submit a pay stub: a letter from your employer on official letterhead indicating days & times worked (may be a sample schedule if hours vary) will be accepted.

Self-Employed/Independent Contractor parents:

• If you do NOT receive a W-2 at the end of the calendar year from your employer, or you receive a 1099 form from the company you work with. Please see below for acceptable documentation.
  • Please submit a copy of your GE tax license AND a copy of either
    1. Income tax return including your Schedule C OR
    2. Printed business checking account

Parents attending school: 

• School Schedule on official school letterhead with the school's name, name of the student and course schedule with date and time.

Parents in Job Training:

• DHS_728 First to work approval letter.

PROGRAM FEE: 

The DOE determines the monthly fee, which will be $240 per child for the 2026-2027 School Year.

• Parent’s portion is due on the 1st program day of each month. Your first month’s program fee will be due on the first A+ program day.
• Families may be eligible to be 100% subsidized by applying for an income-based DHS Subsidy or for a partial reimbursement by applying for the DHS Child Care Connections subsidy. Learn more.

DHS SUBSIDY:

DHS has adjusted the eligibility schedule, increasing the maximum income eligibility levels. Families who previously exceeded the income eligibility may now possibly qualify for this subsidy. The subsidy will cover the full monthly program fee.

A new application and current documentation MUST be submitted each school year.

• Proof of income is required. If submitting pay stubs, provide one consecutive month of the most current pay stubs for all parents/guardians living in the household. Household members consist of parents/guardians and all dependent children. Please include income from all sources, including; salary, child support, alimony, etc. If the A+ child(ren) reside(s) in more than one household, please use the household income and members in which the child resides in the majority of the time during the school week (Monday through Friday).
• Please check our online Income Eligibility Estimation Calculator to see if your family may qualify.

AUTHORIZED PICKUP:

• All names listed as authorized pickups are required by the State to be 18 years of age or older and have a phone number where they can be reached.

If you have any questions regarding the registration process, please contact us as by email childcare@ymcahonolulu.org or by phone 808-678-4292.
 

The A+ Afterschool Program is a state-supported childcare program aimed at providing consistent and quality afterschool care for students. The program was developed by the Legislature to reduce the incidence of latchkey children in the after-school hours. To qualify for the A+ program, parents/guardians must meet the following A+ Eligibility criteria:

• School-Age Student: The child must be in Kindergarten to 6th grade and attending a public elementary school with a participating A+ program.
• Parent/Guardian Activities During A+ Operation Hours: Parents, legal guardians*, or foster parents/guardians** must be engaged in one of the following activities during A+ operation hours:

  • Employed (having a job or being self-employed)

  • Attending school (college, university, or other types of schools)

  • Engaged in job training

  • Working for the A+ program

*If either biological parent is NOT authorized to pick up, explanation and custody documents are required to be submitted each school year. 
**Foster documents are required to be submitted each school year.

Proof of employment/school/job training is REQUIRED from both parents/legal guardians to determine eligibility for the A+ program. Please provide one of the following:

• Employed Parents:
  • Most recent paystub with hours worked indicated and/or pay period (must be within 30 days). 
  • If you are not able to submit a paystub: a letter from your employer indicating days & times worked (may be a sample schedule if hours vary) will be accepted.
• Self-employed/independent contractor parents: Please submit the following:
  • GE Tax license AND
  • Previous year's tax return (1040) with Schedule C OR a voided business check/business bank statement with company name.
  • If the business is new or you are unable to provide the required documents, eligibility may be denied until these conditions can be met.
• Parents/legal guardians attending school:
  • School Schedule on official school letterhead with the school's name, name of the student and course schedule with date and time.
• Parents in Job Training:
  • DHS_728 First to work approval letter.

2026-2027 A+ Registration Opens Wednesday, April 22, 3 pm for both online and in-person registration at A+ sites.

Online Registration: The link to register online will be live starting at 3 pm on April 22. Please ensure only one family member submits your registration online to avoid elevated website traffic and duplicate submissions. 

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Registrations will be date and time-stamped only when all required information and documentation have been submitted. This does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Use the Parent Checklist to ensure your form and required documents are complete.

A final review will need to be completed, and a status notification emailed to confirm acceptance or waitlist status. 

2026-2027 A+ Registration Opens Wednesday, April 22, 3 pm for both online and in-person registration at A+ sites.

In-Person Paper Registration: Register in person at your child's A+ school site 3 pm to 5:30 pm on Wednesday, April 22. After this date, you may register in person at A+ sites only during hours of operation.

To register in-person, you must use the new 2026-2027 A+ registration packet, which will be available on Monday, April 20. Registrations will be date and time-stamped only when all required information and documentation have been submitted. This does not guarantee acceptance into the program. A final review will need to be completed, and a status notification emailed to confirm acceptance or waitlist status.

While incomplete registrations may be accepted, the official date and time stamp will reflect when all required information and documentation have been provided.

To avoid delays, please refer to the Parent Checklist to ensure all requirements are met before submission.

The DOE determines the monthly fee, which will be $240 per child for the 2026-2027 School Year.

• Parent’s portion is due on the 1st program day of each month. Your first month’s program fee will be due on the first A+ program day.
• The monthly tuition is a flat rate and it does NOT depend on the number of days child/ren attend the program.
• Families may be eligible to be 100% subsidized by applying for an income-based DHS Subsidy or for a partial reimbursement by applying for the DHS Child Care Connections subsidy. Learn more here.
• Free Service: Sign up to pay your balance automatically to avoid late fees.
  • This form must be submitted annually and will expire at the end of your membership or program (or A+ school year).

A new DHS Subsidy application and current documentation MUST be submitted each school year.

To learn more, please visit the DOE A+ Financial Assistance website which includes the DOE A+ Income Eligibility Table for DHS A+ Subsidies to check your eligibility. The application for A+ subsidy is included in the registration, please complete the subsidy page to apply for subsidy. After you have applied for financial assistance, please upload supporting documents to our secure website.

Please note:

• Proof of income is required. If submitting pay stubs, provide one consecutive month of the most current pay stubs for all parents/guardians living in the household. Household members consist of parents/guardians and all dependent children. Please include income from all sources, including; salary, child support, alimony, etc. If the A+ child(ren) reside(s) in more than one household, please use the household income and members in which the child resides in the majority of the time during the school week (Monday through Friday).
• Please check the online Income Eligibility Estimation Calculator to see if your family may qualify.

While all registrations have been date and time-stamped when received, we process registrations in this order of priority:

1. Registrations in the order received for all school sites that currently have open spots.
2. Registrations in the order received for all school sites that still need to meet minimum enrollment requirements.
3. Registrations in the order received from all school sites that are currently waitlisted.

Once we have completed processing your registration, you will receive an email notification [“Admissions Status Notification"] on the status of your child’s/children’s enrollment, or an email to request for information. Your Admission Status notification includes whether your child has been:

• Enrolled: Your child has been successfully enrolled in the program.
• Waitlisted*: Your child is on the waitlist due to full enrollment, or limited capacity due to staffing, or your child’s A+ school site has not yet met the minimum enrollment requirement of 20 students.
• Ineligible: Your child does not meet the Hawaii State A+ Qualifications. The A+ Programs were developed by the Legislature to reduce the incidence of latchkey children in the after-school hours. Therefore, all A+ programs must qualify students based on the definition of “latchkey,” which refers to children who have no adult present in the home to provide after-school supervision. Parents/guardians must meet the following A+ Eligibility criteria to participate:
  • School-age student (grades Kindergarten to 6th grade) attending a public elementary school with participating A+ program.
  • Parent/legal guardian(s) who participates in any of the following activities during A+ Operation Hours:
    • Employed (have a job or are self-employed)
    • Attend school (college, university, or other types of schools)
    • Engaged in job training
    • Work for the A+ program
  • Provide written documentation to verify employment and/or attendance in school or training programs for each parent/guardian. All documentation must verify that these activities take place during A+ Operation hours. For more details, please visit A+ Eligibility Criteria
• Tentative: Your child’s school site has not yet met the minimum enrollment requirements.

Be sure to check your email frequently, including your “spam” folder, to ensure you don’t miss this notification from childcare@ymcahonolulu.org.

Pending Applications: If there is missing information on your application, we are not able to complete your registration processing, and you will receive an email.

• Check your email (both your inbox and "SPAM" folders) to be sure that you did not miss an email from childcare@ymcahonolulu.org that requested additional information.
• Please respond to these requests as soon as possible – as we cannot complete your registration processing until ALL information is received.
• Once your documents are submitted, we can continue processing your registration.

*Waitlist: Some A+ school sites will reach capacity due to staffing challenges, capacity limits or may not have reached the minimum 20-student enrollment requirement.

Please know that we are working on resolving these limitations with:

• Promotions to hire more staff  - including competitive pay and referral bonuses that include a $250 Y Credit to the public for each new hire referral and for Y employees.
• Working with schools to expand capacity.
• For those sites that have not met the minimum enrollment, we are promoting registration at those impacted school sites.

What should I do if I did not receive an email?

If you have not received any communication from us more than 2 weeks after submitting your registration, please do a search for an email from childcare@ymcahonolulu.org to ensure that our email did not go into your SPAM or promotional email box.

If you find that you still have not received any communication from us, please send an email to childcare@ymcahonolulu.org.

Your child may be placed on a waitlist for one of the following reasons:

• Staffing shortage: The number of registrations exceeds available staff to maintain the required 1:20 adult-to-child ratio. Additional staff must be hired before more students can be accepted.

• Facility capacity: The site has reached the maximum number of students that can be safely accommodated in the available space.

• Low enrollment: The site has not yet met the minimum enrollment requirement of 20 students needed to run the program.


Students are added to the waitlist based on the date and time of completed registration submissions. Unfortunately, the time a child remains on the waitlist is unpredictable. Openings usually happen when a student withdraws or when staffing or enrollment needs are met.

What you can do:

• Watch your email (including spam/promotions folders) for updates from childcare@ymcahonolulu.org if a spot opens.

• Arrange for alternate childcare in the meantime.

• Help us grow—refer someone or apply for A+ job openings to support program  
  
  Referral Bonus: For each new hire referral who remains employed for at least 30 days, referring members of the public will receive $250 in Y credit. This credit can be used for Y programs, camps, childcare, A+ fees, swim lessons, personal training, and more. See details here.  

We appreciate your patience as we work to serve more families.

Q: Which schools are currently waitlisted?

A: Waitlisted schools are those that are full due to staffing needs or have it yet met the minimum enrollment of 20 students or more. 

Q: Which schools have open spots?

A: Open schools are those with available spots (While a school may show available spots, submitting a registration form does not guarantee enrollment. Your application might be waitlisted because we are still processing registrations submitted before yours, which could fill the available spots by the time we reach your application.) 

Q: Which schools are tentative and still need to meet the minimum enrollment?

A: Tentative schools are those that have not yet met minimum enrollment requirements. 

Q: How can I help with staffing shortages which is the primary reason for A+ waitlists?


A: You can refer potential employees to the YMCA. See referral and employment benefits below.

Q: What are the benefits of referring someone to work at the YMCA?

A: For each new hire referral who remains employed for at least 30 days, referring members of the public will receive $250 in Y credit. This credit can be used for Y programs, camps, childcare, A+ fees, swim lessons, personal training, and more. 

Q: What incentives are offered to new hires?

A: New hires in our A+ Afterschool Programs receive competitive pay rates, paid training, and supportive supervisors and trainers. Additionally, they receive a free Y membership and up to 60% off Y programs, camps, childcare, and more for themselves, their family, and siblings. See all details here.

Visit the Hawaii State A+ Website at https://hawaiicommunityengagement.com/after-school-plus

If you have any questions regarding the registration process, please contact us as by email childcare@ymcahonolulu.org or by phone 808-678-4292.