ECEAP report highlights program’s successes

The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, more commonly known as ECEAP, is helping thousands of Washington children from low-income families prepare for kindergarten. The annual ECEAP outcomes report for the 2016-2017 school year reveals that the program is successfully guiding the majority of enrolled 3- and 4-year-olds to kindergarten readiness in all developmental domains.

“ECEAP continues to be one of the most important strategies for getting low income and at-risk children ready for kindergarten,” said Heather Moss, director of the Department of Early Learning, for the report. “The results are clear – this is a proven, effective program that is improving the trajectory of children’s lives across our state.”

At the end of two years of ECEAP, 67 percent of 4-year-olds are ready for kindergarten in all six developmental domains measured; 89 percent are ready in at least five of the six domains. Even after a single year of ECEAP, 82 percent of 4-year-olds are ready for kindergarten in at least five domains. Students are assessed three times a year in social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy and mathematics development using the Teaching Strategies GOLD® assessment.

Compared to other kindergartners from low-income families, ECEAP graduates have higher rates of readiness, even though ECEAP children come from families in greater poverty, on average.

Many parents have praised ECEAP for the difference it has made for their children.

“My daughter had the benefit of attending ECEAP at age 3 and 4,” said one parent, as quoted in the report. “She has developed all the skills that her brothers did not until at least half way through kindergarten or even in first grade. I believe that this program has had a massive lifelong positive impact on children’s lives.”

In addition to preparing Washington children for kindergarten, the ECEAP program also seeks to improve kids’ health outcomes and strengthen their families. Upon enrollment, 4 percent of ECEAP children lacked medical coverage and 16 percent lacked dental coverage. At the time of graduation, all children had medical coverage and only 2 percent lacked dental coverage. The vast majority of children who were behind on well-child exams and dental care also caught up by the time they exited the ECEAP program. Many ECEAP families set goals in areas such as developing parenting skills or increasing financial security. Families made progress on these goals through ECEAP’s Mobility Mentoring program.

“ECEAP has provided critical support to our family this year,” said one ECEAP parent quoted in the report. “It has greatly reduced the financial stress on our family, allowing us to meet medical needs and to maximize our work opportunities. Our family is functioning better overall thanks to ECEAP.”

During the 2016-2017 school year, ECEAP served 11,691 children in 352 locations across Washington state. A total of 80 percent of those students were at or below the federal poverty level. Most ECEAP children identify as Children of Color: 35 percent are Hispanic of any race, 12 percent are Black, and 4 percent are American Indian/Alaska Native.

The state of Washington plans to expand ECEAP to serve every eligible child – more than 19,000 kids – by the 2022-2023 school year. The written Expansion Plan will be available in late fall 2017. You can read the full 2016-2017 ECEAP Outcomes Report on the Department of Early Learning website.