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Dear Early Childhood Education (ECE) Grantee,
Happy New Year! We hope 2025 is off to a great start for you and your program. We appreciate you taking the time to complete the Fall Survey and report your enrollment.
Below are some important ECE grant updates:
ECE grantees must use the Early Learning Assessment (ELA) to assess ECE grant-funded children twice a year, fall and spring.
- The ELA for fall should have been completed and the data submitted.
- ELA Administrator/Data Manager Webinar:
- The Department of Children and Youth (DCY) will host a webinar for administrators and data managers on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. This webinar will review ELA policies and procedures for the Spring 2025 administration window including the data reporting process. There is no need to register in advance, simply join the webinar via this link: Join the meeting now
- As a reminder, grantees who do not submit ELAs will be placed on a Corrective Action Plan (CAP).
The Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guidelines used to determine eligibility for the ECE grant will NOT change in February. With the alignment of eligibility determination with Public Funded Child Care (PFCC) and other programs administered through the Ohio Benefits (OB) system, the FPL guidelines will be updated in October. We will share that information in the fall for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 26. This will provide families participating in multiple programs with consistent eligibility guidelines moving forward. Please continue to utilize the existing FPL guidelines for eligibility for the SFY 26 program year.
The deadline to enroll children in the ECE grant is March 31, 2025. Grantees cannot enroll additional children after March 31. Exceptions include eligible children:
- With an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
- In foster or kinship care with a case plan, family service plan, or kinship care as documented through kinship permanency incentive payments.
- Whose family is experiencing homelessness as defined by the McKinney-Vento Act.
An ECE grant webinar will be held on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, to provide updates for SFY 26. The meetings will be held at the following times:
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