Join Early Learning For All

Center Administrator, Educator, FCC Owner

Application Period: Summer 2027

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Join Early Learning for All

Update (July 21, 2026): DEC has completed its preliminary review of qualifying applications and applied its scoring and ranking criteria. The final anonymized ranked list is linked below. Applicants may locate their rank using their application ID number. As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not guarantee you will be invited to participate in the validation process this round.

DEC will reach out to the highest-ranking applicants to begin quality standards validation. As applicants are successfully validated in the coming months, DEC may invite additional applicants in rank order to enter the process. In the meantime, DEC is interested in helping qualified applicants who don’t currently enroll infants or toddlers with supports to do so. DEC will reach out to preschool-only programs with more information soon.

Thank you for your interest in joining the Early Learning For All network! DEC is committed to providing access to high-quality, affordable early learning experiences for all San Francisco children and their families. Our application and quality validation processes are designed to ensure that all programs in our network meet the needs of the communities we serve and set children up for success in kindergarten and beyond.

Early Learning For All is publicly funded and resources are limited. Submitting an application and meeting all requirements does not guarantee that your program will be selected for validation.

Please read the information below carefully to learn more.

Considerations for Joining Early Learning For All

Programs that join our network:

Can offer free and/or discounted enrollment to eligible families.
Have access to a wide variety of exclusive professional development, training, coaching, and educational advancement opportunities for their educators.
Benefit from DEC’s Workforce Compensation and Workforce Development programs.
Have access to wrap-around supports for their students such as developmental screening, early intervention support, early childhood mental consultation, child health nurses and more.

While there are many benefits to joining the Early Learning for All network, there are also many requirements that programs must adhere to. Before applying to the Early Learning for All network, please consider whether your program is willing and able to:

Serve all San Francisco families, while prioritizing children from low-income households, children with special needs, children involved in the child welfare system or at risk of abuse or neglect, and children experiencing homelessness.
Take part in required financial reporting, data reporting, and program monitoring.
Follow the Early Learning for All Program Operating Guidelines, including meeting and maintaining Quality Standards and participating in ongoing quality improvement.
Comply with all applicable city, state, and federal laws, policies and legislation.
- Note: As per the San Francisco Controller’s Cost Categorization Policy and our Program Operating Guidelines, public funds are not allowed to be used for religious worship, instruction, or proselytization.
Stay engaged with DEC by regularly checking emails, attending meetings and completing surveys.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to apply for the Early Learning For All network you must:

Be a licensed Family Child Care home or Early Education Center located in San Francisco serving children ages birth to five.
Be in good standing with California Community Care Licensing Division
Current enrollment of children ages 0-5 must be at least 25% of licensed capacity. Small family child care homes must currently enroll at least two children, and large family child care homes must currently enroll at least three children.
Meet teaching qualifications as follows:
- FCC Owner: 12 ECE Units, including nine units of core classes (Child Growth and Development, Intro to Early Childhood Curriculum, and Child, Family, and Community) and three ECE elective units for educator providing instruction and supervision to the children.
- Center Lead Teachers: 24 units of ECE/CD plus 16 units of General Education or CA CTC Teacher Permit
- Center Director: Associates degree with 24 units of ECE with 6 units management/administration and two units supervision or CA CTC Site Supervisor Permit
Meet ratio and group size requirements as follows:
- FCCs (as per California Community Care Licensing Guidelines):
  - Infant (0-18 months) 1:4
  - Toddler (18-36 months) 1:6
  - Preschool (3-5 years) 1:10
- Centers without State Funding:
  - Infant (0-15 months) 1:4, class size 8
  - Toddler (12-36 months) 1:6, class size 12
  - Preschool (30 months-5 years) 1:10, class size 20
- State-funded (CSPP and CCTR) Centers:
  - Infant 1:3, class size 9
  - Toddler 1:4, class size 12
  - Preschool 1:8, class size 24

How to Join Early Learning for All

Watch Our Pre-application Informational Video

The first step in becoming an Early Learning For All program is to view the pre-application informational video linked below. This video provides critical information about the Early Learning For All application requirements and process. Before beginning your application, please watch the entire video in the language of your preference using the links below.

Collect Transcript(s) and/or Permit(s)

You will need to upload documentation verifying your program meets the minimum teacher qualifications to both the California ECE Workforce Registry and to your online application. Please collect all necessary transcripts and/or permits prior to moving on to steps 3-4 as you will need your documentation ready to complete these steps.

Starting in FY2026-2027 all academic units must come from a regionally accredited California Teacher Credentialing approved institution.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to check if your units come from a regionally accredited institution approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CA CTC):

Create a CA ECE Workforce Registry Account & Upload Documentation of Teacher Qualifications

The Early Learning For All application requires the CA ECE Workforce Registry ID Number of the program Director or Owner. If you do not already have a Registry account, please create one at https://www.caregistry.org/ before completing your Early Learning For All application.

After creating your account, upload all transcript(s) and/or permit(s) verifying your program meets the Early Learning For All minimum teacher qualifications.

For Centers, each Director and Lead Teacher will need their own CA ECE Workforce Registry account and will need to upload their own transcripts and/or permits. Center Directors will also need to request Administrative Access and verify each of their Lead Teacher’s employment.

For step-by-step guides to creating your Registry account, finding your Registry ID, requesting administrative access, and uploading transcripts and permits, please view the guides linked below:

Resources for Employers

For additional questions or support with creating a California ECE Workforce Registry Account please contact the Children’s Council Help Desk:

Complete an Application

Use the links below to complete our online application in your preferred language.

We Will Contact You

DEC will review your application and contact you regarding next steps. This flow chart provides an overview of what you can expect after your application is submitted.

1. Watch Our Pre-application Informational Video

Cantonese

English

Mandarin

Spanish

2. Collect Transcript(s) and/or Permit(s)

Starting in FY2026-2027 all academic units must come from a regionally accredited California Teacher Credentialing approved institution.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to check if your units come from a regionally accredited institution approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CA CTC).

3. Create a CA ECE Workforce Registry Account & Upload Documentation of Teacher Qualifications

After creating your account, upload all transcript(s) and/or permit(s) verifying your program meets the Early Learning For All minimum teacher qualifications.

For step-by-step guides to creating your Registry account, finding your Registry ID, requesting administrative access, and uploading transcripts and permits, please view the guides linked below:

Create a Profile

Find Your Registry ID

Complete Your Registry Profile Checklist

How to Upload Documents on the Registry

Resources for Employers

How to Request Administrative Access

How to Review and Verify Staff Information

For additional questions or support with creating a California ECE Workforce Registry Account please contact the Children’s Council Help Desk:

[email protected]

415-343-4669

4. Complete an Application

Use the links below to complete our online application in your preferred language.

English

Spanish

Chinese

5. We Will Contact You

DEC will review your application and contact you regarding next steps. This flow chart provides an overview of what you can expect after your application is submitted.

Application Scoring and Ranking

If your application meets eligibility requirements, it will be scored and ranked according to the following prioritization criteria:

Currently serving Infants and Toddlers – 5 Points

Currently serving CalWORKs families – 1 point

Experience serving all SF families and have expertise serving historically marginalized, isolated, and underserved populations, and children with a higher prevalence of not being kindergarten-ready – 1 point

Currently serving children with IFSPs/IEPs – 1 point

Tie-breaker: When multiple programs have the same score, programs with the highest number of children enrolled will be ranked above programs with the same score serving fewer children.

We will publish the ranked list in July 2026.

Quality Standards Validation

Document

Join Early Learning For All Application Process Overview

English

Spanish

Chinese

As shown in the flow chart linked above, the application is just the first step in the process to join our network. If your application is accepted and you are invited to attend an orientation meeting, you will then begin the Quality Standards validation process. The validation process is a series of site visits and assessments evaluating program’s quality across DEC’s five Early Learning For All Quality Standards. These standards are designed to ensure all children enrolled in Early Learning For All programs benefit from high-quality early learning experiences that prepare them to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. To join the Early Learning For All network, your program must meet our three core standards:

Family Partnerships
Safe & Engaging Environments
Engaged Educators & Interactions

Once a new program is accepted into our network, they sign a Quality Standards agreement that outlines the minimum thresholds they must meet across all five standards to maintain their Early Learning For All status. In collaboration with our Early Learning Quality Team, programs also develop a continuous Quality Improvement Plan to identify program-specific quality improvement goals and establish a quality assurance and monitoring cadence with DEC and our quality assessment partners.