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Early learning opportunities are essential. Here at San Juan County, we are working hard to expand access and support local programs wherever we can. The Early Childhood Education Assistance Program (ECEAP, pronounced “E-cap”) is a vital program in our community offering free preschool for qualifying families on our ferry-served islands. San Juan County ECEAP partners with local preschools to offer high-quality comprehensive services preparing children to enter Kindergarten ready to succeed.
Expansion & Upgrades
We are so proud to have supported the expansion of ECEAP to San Juan Island. In 2025 the San Juan Island School District increased their number of ECEAP slots by 13 and went from a part-day to a full-day model. Also on San Juan Island, Hope Harbor at St. David’s Day School added 9 more slots! To see all participating preschools, check out our website!
ECEAP is in discussion with San Juan Island Community Foundation and the Umbrella Group to work towards the shared goal of making sure every child on SJI has access to a preschool experience.
Our Early Learning Team has added a bilingual staff member (English and Spanish), Larissa Nash. She supports Spanish-speaking families on all islands and is also a Breastfeeding Support Peer Counselor.
Other exciting updates include upgrades to playgrounds on Lopez and Orcas Islands:
- Structures and fencing for Lopez Children’s Center
- Fencing for Orcas Island’s Children’s House
- Safety Supplies for Kaleidoscope (Orcas Island).
Direct Services
ECEAP families get access to important services to support their health and well-being. Throughout the fall, ECEAP will provide vision, hearing, and developmental screenings. DentALL will also be visiting preschools this fall to offer dental services to ECEAP students. ECEAP families don’t have to miss a day of work to take their child to the dentist. DentALL has committed to serving Orcas community two times per year and planning is underway to serve Lopez Island.
In November, we will begin our Mobility Mentoring family support sessions for every enrolled family. There will also be Bird & Bees & Kids sessions, which is an opportunity for parent engagement and staff training.
Unfortunately, mental health sessions have been discontinued this year because funding that supported these services dropped by $145,000 (83% of last year’s budget). Before this budget cut, we hosted an average of 35 counseling sessions every month. We hope that funding will increase in the future for us to restart this important service.
Community Need
This year there are 503 children under 5 and 243 total spots at licensed childcare facilities. This means that only about 50% of children can be served in San Juan County. This is a critical area of need.
Another consideration is the financial impact of childcare. Childcare can cost has high as $2,000 per month per child for families. For San Juan County the average cost of childcare is $1,437/month for one child and $3,168/month for two children. This is an estimated 20 to 25% of median income. (This is far above the recommended 7% of income by DSHS and the Department of Commerce.)
ALICE is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. The ALICE Household Survival Budget is tailored by location and household size and includes the costs of housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care, technology, taxes, and a 10% miscellaneous category. For San Juan County the ALICE Household Survival Budget is:
- $67,176 for one adult and one in childcare
- $121,356 for two adults and two in childcare
There are 3,020 households under the ALICE threshold in SJC – 2,056 of those are above the Federal Poverty Level.
To read more about community health needs, we published our 2025 Youth Community Health Assessment that focuses specifically on the health and well-being of youth in SJC. You can read the full report on our website!
Next Steps
The San Juan County Early Learning Team is staying flexible, proactive, and creative to support early learning opportunities county-wide. Some major focuses for the team are:
- Early Learning coalition building
- WIC outreach with Early Learning Team
- Continue to support programs to become licensed
- Continue to grow ECEAP slots in licensed programs
Get Involved
To learn more or get involved in supporting child care opportunities locally, reach out to Melinda Hallen, San Juan County Early Learning Coordinator, at melindah@sanjuancountywa.gov or 360-370-0585.
You can also check out the September 2025 Board of Health meeting for a presentation on Early Learning efforts at San Juan County. Watch the recording online here!
Related links:
- ECEAP Families | San Juan County
- Early Learning | San Juan County
- 2025 SJC Youth Community Health Assessment
- ParentHelp123.org
- Vroom.org
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