Parent Services
School Readiness Services
School Readiness Services, also known as subsidized child care, is available in Clay, Nassau, Baker, Bradford, Putnam and St. Johns Counties through Episcopal Children’s Services. However, families must qualify and there is often a wait list, so it is important that you contact ECS as soon as possible to be added to our list.
To Qualify You Must:
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Reside in Clay, Nassau, Baker, Bradford, Putnam or St. Johns County
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Have a referral from Work Source, Workforce Board, or other referring agency
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Meet requirements of hours worked and income
How Much Money Can I Make and Still Qualify?
Eligibility is determined by both income and family size, so it is difficult to answer this question in a general way. To give you an idea, a family of 3 could earn up to $24,900 a year and still qualify to begin services. After receiving services initially, this same family would continue to qualify until they earned over $33,200 a year or 200% of the federal poverty level. In another example, a family of 4 could earn up to $ 30,000 a year initially, and would continue to qualify until they earned over $40,000. A family of 2 could earn up to $19,800 a year initially and would continue to qualify until they earned over $26,400.
How Does the Wait List Work?
If you seem to qualify but our funding won’t allow us to enroll your child at the moment, you can be put on a waiting list. The length of time you can expect to be on the list may vary greatly and is unfortunately rather hard to predict. Additional funding sometimes comes in unexpectedly or people leave our program, making room for new clients. In any case, if your name isn’t on the list, you won’t get a call so please ask to be added to the wait list. That way, when we have funding we can reach you.
After you are on the list, keep us informed of changes in your address or other contact information. If we try to contact you and can’t, we will have no choice but to take your name off of the list.
What if I don’t qualify? Is there any other way ECS can help?
Yes, we offer Child Care Resource and Referral services to any family free, regardless of income. This is a service designed to match your child care needs with child care providers and services that can fill those needs. You may want a family child care home that will take both an infant and a 3 year old, gives sibling discounts and is within 5 miles of your job. We can give you a listing of referrals that meet those needs.
Price is often a factor parents ask us to consider when requesting referrals. Price is not necessarily an indication of quality. Remember that these are referrals, not recommendations, so you need to visit the child care providers yourself to see what you think. However, we do provide checklists that can make it easier to find the child care provider that is right for your family. We also have other referrals available to assist you with financial options.
How Do I Contact You?
You can call our offices at (904) 726-1500, toll free 1-800-238-3463 or the phone number listed below for the county where you live. We can often help you with just a phone call, but if you would like to come in, we have offices in all of the counties we serve, and accept walk-ins and appointments. Please call the location nearest you for directions.
You can also enter your personal information at our Single Point of Entry and a Family Services Specialist will contact you to discuss your eligibility.