OEC funds early care and education programs across the state through several different grants and contracts. The funds support child care programs, Head Start programs, and public school preschools to provide affordable, high-quality early care and education services.
State-funded early care and education grants and contracts all have different processes for determining the programs or communities that receive funding, and how much funding is allocated. To see all open applications for services, see our RFP page.
Early Care and Education (ECE) Reporter
OEC’s ECE Reporter is the way that state funded programs submit state-funded child enrollment data and monthly reports. Having this data helps OEC make informed program and policy decisions affecting young children and families. Learn more about ECE Reporter.
Early Childhood Professional Registry
The OEC Early Childhood Professional Registry (“the Registry”) is an online system that compiles information about early childhood professionals and programs.
- Early childhood professionals working in state funded early care and education programs can build a profile of employment and education, request scholarships, and more.
- State funded early care and education program administrators use this tool to capture employment and qualifications of staff, as well as program compliance with certain quality requirement
The Registry has been in operation since 2007 and currently has over 24,000 participants in roles including teaching staff members, program administrators, trainers and consultants. Learn more about the Registry.
General Policies
State funded early care and education programs are required to meet a number of requirements, which are laid out in the OEC General Policies (GPs). These requirements vary somewhat depending upon the funding source. See a comprehensive list of of General Policies.
Accreditation
State funded early care and education program programs are required to be Head Start approved or to achieve and maintain accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC)
For more information about accreditation, visit:
- NAEYC’s website for center or school-based programs
- NAFCC’s website for family child care
- Accreditation Quality Improvement Support (AQIS) webpage for guidance on OEC’s support for the accreditation process
State-funded early care and education programs
For more information about state funded early care and education programs, please visit the following pages:
- Child Day Care Contracts
- School Readiness Preschool Grant Program
- Smart Start
- State Head Start Supplement
Child care providers or families who have a funded space through Child Day Care, School Readiness, or Smart Start can use our family fee calculator. It helps families and providers estimate how much they’ll pay for child care.
Keep in mind the calculator just provides an estimate. Child care programs will make final decisions about family fees.