Delaware

Overview

During the 2021-2022 school year, Delaware preschool enrolled 818 children, a decrease of 12 from the prior year. State spending totaled $6,149,300, down $510,440 (8%), adjusted for inflation since last year. State spending per child equaled $7,517 in 2021-2022, down $506 from 2020-2021, adjusted for inflation. Delaware met 9 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

By the end of the 2021-2022 school year, programs were no longer required to follow Emergency Order Regulations for COVID-19. Individual programs made decisions about whether to follow stricter procedures. Recruitment and retention of qualified teachers, a statewide and national crisis, was exacerbated by the qualifications required of Delaware’s Delaware Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP) program. 

In December 2022, the Delaware Department of Education was awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant for $8 million. Funds are planned to be used for expanding state-funded preschool seats to include infant and toddlers, workforce supports for professionals, pilot changes to the Office for Child Care Licensing monitoring and the state’s Quality Improvement System’s verification processes and piloting of the Family Connects Home Visiting Model. 

In winter 2023, the ECAP program went out to Request for Proposal (RFP). Programs will need to plan for potential changes to their state contract and programming during the 2022-2023 school year, in anticipation of program changes outlined in the RFP.

Background

The Delaware Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP) began in 1994, providing comprehensive early learning services for 4-yearolds eligible for the federal Head Start program. Eligibility expanded to 3-year-olds in 2017-2018. 

Modeled after the federal Head Start program, ECAP requires participating programs to follow required federal Head Start Program Performance Standards. Per these standards, ten percent of enrollment slots are reserved for children with disabilities; the majority of participating children must live in families with incomes at or below 100% FPL. Since the reauthorization of the federal Head Start program in 2007, up to 35% of enrolled children may live in households up to 130% of FPL. 

ECAP awards are available to private and public child care programs, such as for-profit child care, Head Start agencies, public schools, community-based organizations, and faith-based centers through an RFP process. Contracts for funded ECAP seats are determined based on Community Needs Assessment Data. 

In 2012, Delaware began requiring all ECAP programs to participate in Delaware Stars, the state quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for early childhood programs. All ECAP programs are required to maintain at least a Star 4 out of 5 rating.

Delaware Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP)

Access

Some Head Start children may also be counted in state pre-K. Estimates children in special education not also enrolled in state pre-K or Head Start.
Total state pre-K enrollment	818
School districts that offer state program	100% (counties)
Income requirement	100% FPL
Minimum hours of operation	3.5 hours/day; 5 days/week
Operating schedule	Minimum 160 days/year
Special education enrollment, ages 3 and 4	1,827
Federally funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	1,245
State-funded Head Start enrollment, ages 3 and 4	0

Resources

Pre-K programs may receive additional funds from federal or local sources that are not included in this figure. K–12 expenditures include capital spending as well as current operating expenditures. Head Start per-child spending includes funding only for 3- and 4-year-olds.