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The Early Care and Education Substitute Pool is designed to support family child care and child care center providers in their professional development. State funding is currently available for certain allowable activities.
Portal Sign In and PIN Required Beginning August 17, 2026
Beginning August 17, 2026, all child care programs must sign in to the ECE Substitute Pool Portal to access Substitute Pool services.
See information on ELIGIBILITY here.
At this time, we are unable to process any new subsidized substitute requests.
You may still access the substitute pool at your own expense by using the request form and selecting the “Private Pay” option.
Scheduling Form Temporarily Unavailable – Sunday, August 16
Our Substitute Pool scheduling form will be temporarily unavailable on Sunday, August 16 while we complete system updates.
Please submit any scheduling requests before or after the 16th.
We appreciate your patience as we make these improvements.
Visit the Substitute Pool’s resources page for helpful guides on navigating the Substitute Pool Portal.
Find guides in English, Somali, and Spanish.
The substitute pool is available through our private pay option for licensed centers and family home providers in good standing with DCYF. These hours can be scheduled for any time, on any day, and the rate is set by the facility or provider. You are responsible for following the minimum wage requirements of your City, County, and State. To see if you qualify for subsidized options, please check our eligibility section below.
Providers can request a substitute for any day of the week by completing this form.
All licensed child care facilities can access the substitute pool.
SEIU 925 Union Benefit Days. Washington State licensed family home child care providers who have served at least one state subsidized child in the last 12 months can access up to 50 new hours of paid substitute time THIS YEAR through June 30, 2027 while funding is available. Funding is available on a first come first come first serve basis.
Additional hours can be accessed through our private pay option by completing this form.
Licensed family home child care providers who are participating in Early Achievers and have not served a subsidized child in the last 12 months can access a paid substitute to cover shifts while staff are focusing on Early Achievers participation and progress. Additional shifts can be accessed through our private pay option by completing this form.
Washington State licensed child care centers participating in Early Achievers can access up to 50 hours of paid substitute time through June 30th, 2026 to cover shifts while staff are focusing on Early Achievers participation and progress. Additional shifts can be accessed through our private pay option by completing this form.
The Early Care and Education Substitute Pool can connect all licensed child care facilities currently in good standing directly with approved substitutes for up to 520 hours per fiscal year (July 1st through June 30th) through the Private Pay option when they need additional coverage to fill temporary staffing vacancies.
DCYF has enabled the Imagine Institute to facilitate this match at no cost to the child care facility, and compensation is handled directly by the licensed child care facility through their existing payroll practices.
The Private Pay option is designed to support facilities through temporary vacancies, not to serve as an ongoing staffing solution. Facilities approaching or exceeding 520 hours of Private Pay connected time will be encouraged to find more sustainable staffing
options, including direct hiring from within the substitute pool or recruitment support through Imagine’s Shared Services Hub.
To access the private pay option, please complete this form.
This checklist will help you think of all the things your substitute will need to be able to locate to be prepared to work in your environment. Spend the first hour providing an orientation to your program, and letting them know where to find all the items on this form. Feel free to add more!
Your substitute will leave an End of Day Report for you explaining how the day went. If there is anything specific you want in your report, please request it at your onsite orientation with your substitute.
Do you have a preferred substitute you'd like to schedule?
REQUEST A SUBSTITUTE
