DEL News

May 15, 2008
State-funded preschool program sees historic expansion
More than 1,000 additional Washington families to enroll in 2008

OLYMPIA – After the first open, competitive bidding process in Washington’s state-funded preschool program in nearly two decades, the Department of Early Learning (DEL) has awarded 1,145 new enrollment slots for the 2008-2009 school year.

The expansion will allow more Washington children and their families in more areas of the state to benefit from the nationally lauded Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP).

This builds on 1,105 new slots in the 2007-2008 school year. Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Washington Legislature in 2007 approved the funding to expand ECEAP by 27 percent.

The increase will reach more Washington children who will benefit most from ECEAP’s services—including those who are involved in the child welfare system, who live in rural areas and who are from homes with a primary language other than English. Thirty-eight of 39 Washington counties will have at least one ECEAP site in the 2008-2009 school year.

“This is an important opportunity to help ensure all Washington children are ready to succeed in school and in life,” said DEL Director Jone Bosworth. “Our preschool program offers children a caring, fun environment to gain social and language skills and confidence that they can grow up to be anything they want to be.”

Created in 1985, ECEAP serves primarily 4-year-olds and their families with incomes at or below 110 percent of the federal poverty level. It is one of the few state-funded preschool programs in the nation that focuses on children’s educational, health and social needs while offering family support services such as family fun nights and information about local resources.

In its State of Preschool survey issued in March 2008, the National Institute for Early Education Research ranked Washington’s preschool program among the top in the nation, with ECEAP meeting nine out of 10 quality standard benchmarks.

In the 2007-2008 school year, 83 percent of families enrolled in ECEAP are at or below the federal poverty level ($20,650 annual for a family of four). In 2008, 217 children in foster care were enrolled in ECEAP, a 35 percent increase over 2007.

“The benefit of the program is the multitude of services that are offered,” said Cindy Hart, interim human services director for Snohomish County, which will add 160 children to its ECEAP program in the fall. “Not only do the children receive something, but we’re also able to work with the parents.”

DEL works with local contractors to provide services. Seven new contractors around the state will be funded, in addition to an increased enrollment for 17 existing ECEAP contractors. The new contractors are:

  • Educational Service District 105, Yakima County: 36 enrollment slots
  • Family Services of Grant County: 20 enrollment slots
  • Lake Quinault School District, Grays Harbor County: 18 enrollment slots
  • Okanogan County Child Development Association: 48 enrollment slots
  • Richland School District, Benton County: 36 enrollment slots
  • Rural Resources, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties: 40 enrollment slots
  • Wahluke School District, Grant County: 34 enrollment slots

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For more information:

DEL Communications Manager Amy Blondin
360.725.4919 (office)
360.878.0628 (cell)
amy.blondin@del.wa.gov