ELC awarded $7.2M for child care financial assistance

More than 2,000 additional children in Broward County will be able to attend a child care program starting this fall. The Early Learning Coalition of Broward County, which oversees early education (ages 0 -5) in Broward, was awarded $7.2M in federal dollars from Florida’s Office of Early Learning (OEL). The funding will allow the ELC to pull approximately 2,000 children off Broward’s School Readiness Program waitlist, which currently has over 4,000 children waiting for child care subsidies.

“There are so many children in our community on the School Readiness waitlist who will now be able to benefit from the opportunity to learn and grow in a nurturing early care and education environment,” ELC CEO Renee Jaffe explained. “The additional funding will also enable parent(s) to work or go to school.” Jaffe added, “research shows that children who are enrolled in early learning environments, where they interact with their peers and teachers, have higher learning and development rates.”

The statewide School Readiness (SR) program, funded by OEL and administered by the ELC, provides financial assistance to low income families for early child care and education. The goal of the SR program is to prepare children to be successful lifelong learners, while providing financial assistance so lower income parents can work or attend school.

Families already on the SR waitlist will be notified of funding on a rolling basis beginning in October and will continue enrolling through early Spring 2019. Parents who are interested in learning more about the School Readiness program and/or wish to be added to the SR waitlist can obtain more information at: elcbroward.org