Episcopal Childrens Services Inc

The School Readiness (SR) program provides childcare subsidies for families that qualify and provides educational and technical support to childcare providers serving these families. ECS4Kids serves approximately 3,496 children on average per year and around 276 childcare providers monthly, as well as answering approximately 11,942 childcare resource and referral calls from the community. Families with children enrolled in this program receive free or reduced childcare fees from high quality providers, as well as developmental screenings and assessments. ECS4Kids education staff provided approximately 1,241 technical assistance visits and 29 trainings to 225 participants during the year to assist providers in implementing childcare best practices. ECS4Kids provides SR services in Baker, Clay, Nassau, Bradford, Putnam, and St. Johns counties in northeast Florida through a contract with the Early Learning Coalition of North Florida.

ECS4Kids administers the Voluntary Pre-kindergarten (VPK) program in Baker, Clay, Nassau, Bradford, Putnam, and St. Johns counties in northeast Florida through a contract with the Early Learning Coalition of North Florida. VPK is a 540-hour school year program or 300-hour summer program available free to all Florida 4 year-old children. VPK provides high quality educational services to help ensure that children are ready for kindergarten and school success. ECS4Kids served approximately 6,495 VPK children in approximately 219 programs across the 6-county service area.

Through our partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of Duval County and the Kids Hope Alliance, we send teams of trained coaches, technical staff, and volunteers into non-ECS4Kids run childcare facilities to work with directors and teachers to improve the quality of their learning environment, teaching methods, and curriculum implementation. This partnership served approximately 3,901 children in 135 childcare centers and 329 classrooms throughout the past year. ECS4Kids' Coaches work with each director and teacher to create action plans that promote growth and development for all.