WA State Early Care & Education

    Provide quality, affordable childcare, preschool and early education support to all families who need it.

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    Did you know that learning begins at birth & the brain develops faster between birth & age 3 than any other period of life? That is why early care & education is an important & critical development phase.

    But, $10,000 per year, per child, for childcare is out of reach for many families.

    All families should have access to high-quality affordable options for their children's early care & education – whether their children spend their days at home, in childcare, or preschool. Join us & spread the word!

    Join us & spread the word!

    Share Your Childcare & Early Learning Experiences

    Have an experience related to early care and education, childcare, or early learning of your own to share?

    Ever had a good, bad, funny or sad experience with finding, paying for, or getting great childcare?

    • “I've had to pay ridiculous amounts of tuition to find decent pre-K education. I look for small child to adult ratios and well-qualified teachers. I also like to see clean and attractive play spaces both indoors and outdoors...”

      —Bree

      Washington

    • “For the first nine month of my son's life I was lucky to have my mother watch him. When my mother decided to go back to school I had to find daycare. My husband and I are both employed full time, but we can barely afford childcare and we do not qualify for any assistance.”

      —Sara

      Oregon

    WA State Resources

    Need help paying for childcare?

    The Washington Department of Early Learning and the Department of Health and Human Services are the first places to go for help.
    The Washington Department of Early Learning
    The Department of Health and Human Services

    Looking for breastfeeding or prenatal support?

    Check out resources.parenthelp123.org/ to find resources near you

    Looking for more fun things to do with your baby or toddler?

    Check out the statewide events calendar at www.parentmap.com/

    Research & Policy

    And for more about Washington's state early care and education policies, visit our great partners:

    MomsBlogging on
    Early Care & Education

    The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males: We All Should Pay Attention

    Posted August 22nd, 2010 by Homa Tavangar

    Forty-seven percent of Black American males graduate from high school in the U.S.  In other words, the majority of black boys are not graduating from high school in the United States of America. The 47% takes all states into account, from Maine, with a 98% graduation rate, to New York, with just 25% of black [...]

    To Ritalin or not to Ritalin

    Posted August 17th, 2010 by Joe Newman

    As a behavior specialist who as a child was medicated from 1970 to 1977 I’m often asked my opinion about Ritalin. Here’s my experience.

    Posted Under: E: Excellent Childcare

    Raising Healthy Eaters

    Posted August 2nd, 2010 by Joe Newman

    Sometimes the hardest part about getting your children to eat healthy food and fight child obesity is getting them to choose the healthy food option. Here’s the behavior methods that show you the way to guide them to healthy food choices

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