Annually, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) prepares the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and Head Start Saturation Study to analyze access to Washington's ECEAP and Head Start programs serving 3- and 4-yearolds. This study estimates the number of eligible children living within each school district…

The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) administers and operates a state-funded preschool program called the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). To inform systemwide improvements in the program, the department contracted with Education Northwest to conduct a qualitative study of nine sites…

Annually, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) prepares the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and Head Start Saturation Study to analyze access to Washington's ECEAP and Head Start programs serving 3- and 4-year-olds. This study estimates the number of eligible children living within each school district…

This is a technical report of agency actions and legislative recommendations for programs regulated by the state or government-to-government responsibilities that must be met for children aged 3-5. As changes in PreK services affect enrollment in birth-3 and school-age care, impacts on these other programs are vital to alignment work. Partnering…

Statewide Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) enrollment data suggests that the percentage of children from homes where English is not the primary language has remained steady over the past four years at around a third of the enrolled population (33% in 2015-16 and 32% in 2019-20). In ECEAP, children from homes where English…

Annually, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) prepares the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and Head Start Saturation Study to analyze access to Washington's ECEAP and Head Start programs serving 3- and 4-year-olds. This study estimates the number of eligible children living within each…

This report was written in compliance with Senate Bill 5437 Section 6, to explore the development of a Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) Tribal Pathway that meets the needs of Tribal Sovereign Nations in providing ECEAP in their communities and decreasing the opportunity gap…

In 2020, the Governor of Washington issued a directive to the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and a letter to Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for the agencies to identify near-term administrative efficiencies and longer-term strategies to improve the alignment and integration of…

Second Substitute Senate Bill 5903 (2019) directed the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to contract with an organization providing coaching services to early achievers program participants, i.e., Child Care Aware of Washington (CCA WA), to provide statewide Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMH-C) to Early…

What do youth need from their caseworkers to succeed as they prepare for their transition from foster care? Youth need a place to live, a job, money, medical and dental care, a postsecondary education plan, personal records, an adult or adults to turn to for help over time, information about how to accomplish their short and long-term goals for…

All Washington's children and youth grow up safe and healthy--thriving physically, emotionally, and educationally, nurtured by family and community. In this first five-year strategic planning cycle, the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will focus on six Strategic Priorities--one relates to equity, three relate to…

Annually, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) prepares the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and Head Start Saturation Study to analyze access to Washington's ECEAP and Head Start programs serving 3- and 4-year-olds. This study estimates the number of eligible children living within each school district…

In April 2019, Substitute Senate Bill 5437 directed the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to begin the "phased implementation of a birth to three early childhood education and assistance program pilot project for eligible children under thirty-six months old." This model is called Early ECEAP and is…

Juvenile Rehabilitation (JR) became part of Washington State's Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) on July 1, 2019. JR serves the state's highest-risk youth who have been charged with a qualifying offense and either adjudicated in a county's juvenile court or convicted in an adult criminal court. In 2000, JR needed to further define…

The Washington State Caseload Forecast Council (CFC) is required by RCW 43.88C to forecast the number of children who are eligible to participate in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) as defined in RCW 43.216.505 (4). ECEAP is Washington's pre-kindergarten program that prepares 3- and 4-year-old children furthest from…