Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP)

In 1985, the State of Washington began developing statewide comprehensive early childhood education and assistance services to support the healthy development and success of children in low-income families or children who are otherwise at risk of school failure. Washington's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) is administered by the Washington State Office of Community Development (OCD).

ECEAP is composed of four interactive components: education, health and nutrition, parent involvement, and family support. These components collectively identify problems that hinder learning; provide health screenings and immunizations for children; encourage parental involvement in the classroom and in the program itself through local parent-run policy councils; assess family needs and refer families to community resources; and provide adults with training to improve their parenting, leadership, and self-sufficiency skills.

ECEAP is a community-based, family-focused, comprehensive, pre-kindergarten program designed to help children and their families who are in poverty. The program focuses on helping three- and four-year-olds prepare for and succeed in school while helping their parents progress toward self-sufficiency.

ECEAP operates 260 program sites locally through 35 contractors, including school districts, educational services districts, local governments, nonprofits, childcare providers, and tribal organizations. Throughout the past 16 years, ECEAP has significantly increased the number of children it has served, from 1,000 served in 1986 to 7,879 served during the 2000-2001 program year. The program has served more than 90,000 children and families since its inception.