Yokohama daycare ranking: ranks A to I, then adjustment points

Yokohama (横浜市) does not add up points the way most Tokyo wards do. It first sorts every family into a rank (ランク), A to I, then uses adjustment points (調整指数, chōsei shisū) only to order families inside the same rank. The city's standard (横浜市給付認定及び利用調整に関する基準) sets this out in its tables 2, 2-2 and 3. It applies to every ward of the city.

Step 1: each parent's rank (別表2)

A is the highest priority, I the lowest. If the two parents have different ranks, the city uses the lower one.

Work (就労, including a job offer):

Rank	Work pattern
A	20 days+ a month and 160 h+ a month
B	20 days+ and 140–160 h
C	16 days+ and 96 h+
D	16 days+ and 64–96 h
E	12 days+ and 64 h+
F	64 h+ a month

Other reasons in the same table:

Rank	Reason
A	Disaster recovery. A single-parent household the ward centre judges will become more independent through work, job hunting or training. A parent with a nursery-teacher, nurse, public-health-nurse or midwife licence working 64 h+ a month in care in the city (not agency staff).
G	Pregnant, or within 8 weeks after birth (産前産後)
H	Job hunting (求職中)
I	Living outside Yokohama, not moving in (市外在住)

Illness, disability, caring for a relative and study are graded A to F by severity and hours.

Step 2: moving up a rank (別表2-2)

Some households are moved one rank up, even from A. Examples in the table: single-parent households, the main earner out of work, a child finishing a Yokohama nursery room or small-scale nursery, a sibling already at (or applying together to) the same facility. Two cases move two ranks: re-applying to licensed care after a sibling's childcare leave, and a licensed nursery teacher or nurse working in care in the city. This step does not apply if the rank came from the single-parent, nursery-teacher or outside-the-city rows.

Step 3: adjustment points inside a rank (別表3)

A selection of the table:

Situation	Points
Child minded by a relative under 65	−1
Transfer from a licensed facility (not for a move or to join a sibling)	−1
Graduate of a Yokohama nursery room, small-scale or similar programme	+5
Currently at one of those (not occasional care)	+1
Paying for other care of 64 h+ a month, not a relative	+3
A parent posted away from home (単身赴任)	+2
A parent works 2+ night shifts a month	+1
Rank comes from work, but the job has not started yet	−2
Sibling already at, or applying together to, the same facility	+4
Sibling at, or applying to, a different facility	+3
Single parent, no relative under 65 living with you	+3
Single parent, with a relative under 65 living with you	+1

Only one item counts from the "alternative care" group, and work adjustments are not doubled when both parents qualify.

Step 4: still tied

Same rank and same points are ordered by:

1. Type of reason, in this order: disaster, illness or disability, work, care, single parent, study, birth, job hunting.
2. More children of elementary age or younger.
3. Lower total income (合計所得金額).

The date your situation is judged

The rank and points use your situation on a base date (基準日):

• April first round: the end of September of the year before.
• April second round: the end of January.
• May onward: the end of the month two months before the start month.

If you can accept a longer childcare leave

The application form has a box that says: if you cannot enter a chosen facility, you can accept extending your childcare leave and a lower priority (希望する保育所等に入所できない場合は、育児休業の延長も許容できるため、利用調整の優先順位が下がってもよい。). If you tick it, the city places you in rank I, with adjustment −10, ordered as job hunting.

When you are not in the selection

The standard leaves you out of an April round if, among other cases, you were already offered a place (including one you declined) in an earlier round for the same April start, or you moved out of the city before the first round.

The standard leaves several judgements to the head of each ward's health and welfare centre (福祉保健センター長). Ask your ward office how your papers will be read. A rank sets your place in the queue. It does not create a vacancy.