DCYF EARLY CHILDHOOD EQUITY GRANT – 2025 to 2026
Equity grant application is open until 5 PM on May 27, 2025.
The Fair Start for Kids Act (FSKA) directs the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to distribute funds to support inclusive and culturally and linguistically specific early learning and early childhood and parent support programs across the state. The funds are distributed through the Early Childhood Equity Grant and are intended to serve as a step toward expanding access to early learning statewide and transforming Washington’s early learning system to make it more inclusive and equitable. The Washington State Legislature passed the FSKA in 2021. The total budget allocation for the grant is authorized by the Legislature and may change.
Equity grant application is open until 5 PM May 27, 2025.
DCYF began requiring grantees to attend a special technical assistance session before they can receive payment. DCYF provides this technical assistance session at no charge, and at a mutually-agreed-upon time after funding decisions are finalized.
For more details on the updates DCYF made and the feedback that inspired them, see the Overview of Round 2 Refinements on the DCYF website.
Equity grant application is open until May 27, 2025.
The Early Childhood Equity Grant is awarded through a competitive grant process. Applying does not guarantee that an eligible provider will receive a grant award. It is likely that there will be a large number of applications that DCYF is unable to fund. Eligible applicants may only receive an Early Childhood Equity Grant every two years.
Eligibility is open to:
Licensed, certified, or certified for payment only child care providers with an open license in good standing.
License-exempt Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers serving children receiving state subsidies.
Licensed ECEAP/Early ECEAP sites.
ECEAP/Early ECEAP contractors.
Play and Learn Group Host Organizations recognized by Child Care Aware of Washington (CCA of WA) and currently receive funding and/or direct programming support from CCA of WA to actively provide direct and virtual education and materials to parents and FFN caregivers. This is the result of a contractual agreement between CCA of WA and the State of Washington and applies to Play and Learn Groups.
Category | What is included? | Maximum Request |
---|---|---|
Hiring Specialized staff | Costs for adding specialized staff needed to complete the project activities | $100,000 |
Child care materials and experiences | Materials needed to complete the project activities that will be used by children or by staff during care of children, or activities that will be carried out with children (e.g., culturally relevant toys, field trips) | $20,000 |
Office and business supplies | Materials needed to complete the project activities that will be used primarily by staff when not directly caring for children | $10,000 |
Staff training | Costs for training needed to complete the project activities and any associated costs | $50,000 |
Program evaluation and assessment tools | Tools to evaluate different aspects of your program, or your program overall | $10,000 |
Other services | Other services needed to complete the project activities (e.g., translation service) | $20,000 |
Other materials | Other materials needed to complete the project activities (e.g., educational materials about challenging behaviors for parents) | $20,000 |
To be considered, applications must be complete, for eligible facilities, and propose projects that are eligible for funding. If more eligible applications are submitted for funding than DCYF is able to fund, which is what we expect, the agency will prioritize applications according to factors decided in collaboration with providers and other stakeholders during the design and refinement process. Once an applicant has been awarded grant funds, all funds must be spent within two years of receiving the grant award and within the scope of the proposed project.
Applications that do not meet this standard will not be considered for funding.
Providers should review their applications carefully before submitting them to make sure each necessary question is answered and that their answers make sense. Providers are encouraged to review their applications with our Technical Assistance partner.
Providers can request the amount of funding needed to make the desired improvement(s) to their early learning program design, program delivery, program evaluation, and/or staff education/training. Providers may request funds in any or all of these categories.
Provider Type | Minimum Award | Maximum Award |
---|---|---|
Licensed/certified providers | $5,000 | $100,000 |
Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers | $100 | $2,000 |
Play and Learn Host Organizations | $5,000 | $30,000 |
ECEAP/Early ECEAP contractors | $5,000 | $100,000 |
Applications with requests outside of those ranges will not be considered.
Award amounts will vary by provider type. DCYF will accept requests within the following ranges based on provider type:
Providers must keep all receipts from purchases made with Early Childhood Equity Grant funds for five years and may be asked to submit receipts to DCYF. If the provider is unable to submit receipts, they may be required to return part or all of the funds to the State of Washington.
Application opens | April 14, 2025 |
Application closes | May 27, 2025 at 5pm |
Applicants notified about whether they are finalists | Mid June 2025 |
Scoring team meets | June/July 2025 |
Finalists are notified of award decisions and required technical assistance session deadline | August 2025 |
Payments processed | 2-4 weeks after technical assistance session deadline |
Technical assistance is available in both 1-on-1 or small group sessions.
These sessions can be delivered in-person, virtually, or over the phone.
Technical assistance is available to support you in your preferred language.
Technical assistance can:
Call us at 206-492-5249 or email us at TA@imaginewa.org.
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