Families
School Readiness
The School Readiness program is a state and federally funded child care tuition assistance program that prepares children to become ready for school assists families in becoming financially self-sufficient and provides caregivers with information about child development and other topics of interest.
Need Help Paying for Child Care?
The ELC helps at-risk and low-income working families by providing child care tuition assistance through the School Readiness program.
Law requires the ELC to determine eligibility partly on purpose for care (working, attending school, etc.), household income, and the number of people in the household. We enroll into the School Readiness program when there are available funds. Typically, there is a waitlist to receive services. To apply for this program, access Florida’s Early Learning Family Portal.
For more information, call us at (850) 385-0504. To view a complete list of ELC contracted providers that offer School Readiness, please click here (updated 02/01/24).
School Readiness Waitlist
The Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region, Inc. (ELC) is currently enrolling families into the School Readiness program. Families interested in receiving child care tuition assistance through this program must complete an application in Florida’s Early Learning Family Portal.
If the information you enter appears to meet the program’s requirements, you will be added to the ELC’s waitlist.
Once funds are available, the ELC will contact you to schedule an eligibility appointment.
If you have questions about the waitlist, please call us at (850) 385-0504.
Families Currently on the Waitlist
The ELC has a new process for contacting families from the ELC’s waitlist. As funding becomes available, families on the waitlist receive emails. The ELC cannot predict when funding will become available for your family so check your inbox, junk, and spam folders regularly.
If you received an email:
- “Notice of School Readiness Funding” from DONOTREPLY@del.myflorida.com
- “ELC New Enrollment Invitation” from Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend Region
Download a brief Questions & Answers document about your next steps.
If you have not received either of the two emails, the ELC has not yet invited you to enroll in services. In this case, check your email often. You may also contact the ELC at familyservices@elcbigbend.org or at 1.866.973.9030.
