Programs / Financial Assistance

2023- 2024 Program Year 

 
HEAD START for 3 year-olds

• Head Start funded seats are available in public school sites across the parish
• Seats for 3 year-olds that qualify for Head Start are available in the following school sites only:
  • Ascension Head Start 
  • Duplessis Primary School 
  • Pecan Grove Primary School 
  • Lakeside Primary 
  • Sorrento Primary 
  • Sugar Mill Primary
  • Child must be 3 years old by September 30th of the program year  and meet ONE or more of the following eligibility requirements:
    • Total household income must be at or below the 100% federal poverty level
    • Foster care placement
    • Verified Homelessness
    • Public Assistance such as SNAP or Social Security & disability benefits
    • Student has a qualifying IEP for speech, cognitive or developmental delays whose needs are best met in a full time Head Start classroom

PUBLICLY FUNDED PRE-K for 4 year-olds

• Publicly funded seats are available in public school sites across the parish  for children that meet the following criteria
• Child must be 4 years old by September 30th of the program year and meet eligibility requirements:
  • Total household income is at or below the 200% federal poverty level
  • Foster care placement
  • Homelessness
  • Public Assistance such as SNAP or Medicaid
  • Qualifying IEP for cognitive or developmental delays whose needs are best me in a full time preschool classroom
  • Child is a t risk of not meeting kindergarten readiness standards due to one or more contributing factors such as being an English language learner in a family where one or more parents speak a language other than English as the primary language at home or determined at risk of being developmentally unprepared based on screening results.

TUITION BASED PRE-K SEATS in public schools for 4 year-olds

• Limited  tuition paying seats are available in some public school sites
  • Child must be 4 years old by September 30th of the program year and cannot  qualify for Head Start or other  publicly funded Pre-K seat
  • Tuition based seats are made available once all qualifying children have been placed in  publicly funded seats
  • Tuition amount is based on a sliding income scale
  • Ascension Parish Public School employees that serve in our west side locations can apply for a tuition waiver for placement in a west side school-based early childhood classroom.  

CCAP-subsidized seats  in early learning centers for  birth to five year olds

• Subsidized tuition for families participating in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
  • Parents must meet the work/school participation requirements defined by CCAP
  • For children ages Birth to 5 years old attending a qualifying  Child Care / Early Learning Center from our list of  provider partners within our network

tuition free publicly FUNDED BIRTH TO THREE  SEATS IN EARLY LEARNING CENTERS

!!!! IMPORTANT NOTE  !!!!

FUNDING FOR THE SEATS DESCRIBED BELOW EXPIRES JUNE 30, 2023 AND HAS NOT BEEN RENEWED FOR THE 2023 2024 PROGRAM YEAR.  WE ARE WORKING TO FIND ALTERNATIVE FUNDING FOR THE CHILDREN ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PROGRAM.  FAMILIES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY FOR CCAP AND BE PLACED ON THAT WAITING LIST UNTIL ADDITIONAL B-3 FUNDING CAN BE SECURED.

• Free publicly funded seats in a privately owned early learning center are available for children ages birth to three in qualifying early learning centers
  • For children that are three years old or younger by September 30 whose family income falls at or below 85% of the State Median Income Level, ($3,939 per month for a family of two, $4,866 per month for a family of three, $5,793 per month for a family of four, $6,720 for a family of five), and whose adult household members are all currently employed or in training at least 20 hours per week, are currently enrolled in school for at least 12 credit hours, or who are actively seeking employment.  Children in foster care or from families experiencing verified homelessness are also eligible.

CONTACT INFORMATION

CCAP Household Eligibility
P.O. Box 260037
Baton Rouge, LA 70826

CCAP ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) helps low-income families pay for child care while working or attending school or training. Eligibility is based on family size and household income and how many hours the adult applying for CCAP works and/or attends school or training.
Households can select any Type III early learning center, family child care provider, in-home provider, school child care center, or licensed child care center determined by the Department of Defense.