For the purposes of this program, your “household” includes the following people:

• Yourself
• Children under the age of 18 that live with you (regardless of child care need)
• 18 year old children who live with you and are still in high school; and 
• Up to one other adult who lives with you and fits one of the following descriptions: a) your spouse, b) your domestic partner, or c) your significant other with whom you have a child.

For the purposes of this program, the following people are not counted in your household size:

• Boyfriend, girlfriend or significant other with whom you do NOT have a child
• Grandparents or other adult family members who live with you
• Children 18 and older who are no longer in high school
• Your children’s biological parent, if that parent does not live with you.
• Adult dependents
• Roommates

Each parent/guardian should submit a separate application for their family. 

Your gross monthly income includes all income, before any deductions or expenses, earned by yourself and up to one other adult who lives with you and fits one of the following descriptions- your spouse, your domestic partner, or your significant other with whom you have a child.  Please also include any income from disability, unemployment insurance, child support, alimony etc.

Because this is a new program, we do not yet know how many families will apply.  Submitting an eligibility form will NOT guarantee you receive child care funding.  There may be more families interested than we have funding to serve.  We will contact you by text and email if you are selected to complete a full application by the end of September 2022.  
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The selection process is NOT first-come, first-served. We will be using a lottery system to make selections by the end of September. Eligible applicants not selected in the first round will remain in the selection pool, and as spots become available, will have regular opportunities for selection.

Those families selected in the first round will likely receive a subsidy that can start November 1st.  We will not pay for child care used before the subsidy starts.  If you use care before November 1st, you will be responsible for paying for it.

A selected family’s subsidy rate will be calculated by a number of factors, including age of each child needing care, family income and household size.  The amount per child will be shared with the family after they have been selected to fully enroll in the program.

Scholar Fund will pay the determined amount directly to the child care provider on a monthly basis.  Any part of the bill not covered by the Best Starts Subsidy will be the responsibility of the family.

Eligible applicants who are not invited to complete an application for the subsidy will automatically remain in our selection pool.  We anticipate spots opening up over time so it will be possible to be selected months after filling out the eligibility form. If you are not selected, we will send you a list of other resources that may be able to support you with the cost of child care.

Text or call us at 206-208-6865 and someone can help you fill out the application over the phone.

If your household submits multiple eligibility forms by mistake, Scholar Fund (Scholarship Junkies) will be able to identify that multiple applications from the same household were submitted. You will not be disqualified.

The nonprofit organization Scholar Fund is responsible for collecting the personal information you submit in the eligibility form. Such information that you provide is deemed confidential and will be protected accordingly. The information you provide is yours, and you may make corrections to such data at any time.

You can access Scholar Funds Privacy Policy here (English only).

Scholar Fund deploys appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the personal information you provide, including to help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of personal information. Further, Scholar Fund does not share personal information with third parties except in limited circumstances as outlined in the Scholar Fund Privacy Policy.

When appropriate, Scholar Fund only shares aggregate and anonymized information with third parties so as not to include personally identifying information. For example, Scholar Fund will submit periodic reports to the Best Starts for Kids Child Care Subsidy Program, but such reports will only include your data at an aggregate-level in de-identified format, including ZIP code of residence, service outcomes, and demographic information.

Personal information will only be retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, there is an ongoing legitimate purpose to retain the data (such as contractual obligations or identity verification), or to comply with legal or auditing requirements.

In order to reduce fraud and avoid duplicates, Scholar Fund has developed several mechanisms to screen and check applicants to spot discrepancies, which includes a thorough application review process, spam filters, and address verification. Scholar Fund personnel may also contact applicants via phone or text if application issues are detected.