ECE Scholarship Initiative

Community

Access to high-quality early childhood education is unaffordable for many families in North Louisiana.

More than 30% of families with children under the age of 5 in the Shreveport-Bossier MSA are living in poverty, and the median income for all families is approximately $48,000. In 2021 in Caddo Parish, only 37% of low-income 3-year-olds have access to publicly-funded early learning. There is even less access for children ages birth to 2. At an average of $9,500 per year, high-quality early childhood education is unaffordable for many families in our community.

In 2020, CFNLA launched the ECE Scholarship Initiative to expand access and enrollment in early childhood education for Caddo Parish children ages birth to 3. In 2021, CFNLA raised $1 million and secured a $1 million match from the State of Louisiana’s ECE Fund, a fund created by the state legislature in 2017 to incentivize local investment in and fundraising for early childhood care and education. CFNLA has leveraged over $25 million in the past four years through the ECE Scholarship Initiative.

Applications for year-round, full-tuition scholarships to high quality Type III childcare centers are available through the Caddo Smart Start Early Childhood Network. Families applying for scholarships must meet a certain income threshold to qualify and must have a caregiver who is working or in school. Caddo Smart Start matches eligible families with a Type III center based on availability, convenience, and other family needs. Scholarships are paid directly to the childcare centers from the Smart Start Network.