Approve Contract with Early Childhood School Readiness Programs and 80 School Readiness Child Care, and Early Education Providers (See Attached List) (Student Services and Federal Programs Division)

The school readiness child care providers (centers and homes) will deliver child care and early education services to children of eligible low-income families residing in Hillsborough County. The contracts begin July 1, 2007, and continue through June 30, 2008.

Goal 5 - The District will eliminate the FCAT achievement gap by a minimum of 10 percentage points as reported by No Child Left Behind.

The total of $19,596,600 is expended for school readiness services at these contracted sites for approximately 4,673 children ages 0-5 at an annual rate of $3,800 per child and for approximately 968 school age children at $1,900 per child annually. The number of children in the contracted sites represents 41.5% of the school readiness children served at various private child care facilities throughout the county. All of the funds are allocated by the Agency for Workforce Innovation Office of Early Learning to Hillsborough County School Readiness Coalition, Inc., and by virtue of a contract, to Hillsborough County Public Schools – Early Childhood School Readiness Programs.

Each year the financial statements are audited by Hillsborough County School Readiness Coalition as prescribed by law. The funding for Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County is provided through federal dollars. The flow-through dollars are channeled by the Agency for Workforce Innovations. The School Readiness Program uses these funds to purchase child care in Hillsborough County. There is no district-generated revenue used for this purchase.