Are you asking about the child tax credit or are you asking about the child and dependent care credit? The child and dependent care credit is the one for paying someone to take care of your child so you can work. If you are filing a joint return, you must show income from working from both spouses--or show that one of the spouses was a student or disabled. The credit is limited to the lower of the two spouse's income amounts, so if your spouse's income was low, the credit will also be low.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900643-what-is-the-child-and-dependent-care-credit
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