Louisiana Education Grants

The Agenda for Children is excited to announce the 2024 CCR&R SRTC Workforce Early Childhood Opportunity (ECHO) Grant! Donor Name: Agenda for Children State: Louisiana County: Selected Counties Type of Grant: Grant Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 09/15/2024 Size of the Grant: Less than $1000 Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned Details: The Early Childhood Opportunity (ECHO) Fund is an innovative grant program that seeks to increase access to high-quality early care and education for Louisiana children, birth through age four, by directly funding childcare programs and the nonprofits that serve them. The purpose of the 2024 CCR&R SRTC ECHO GRANT is to provide workforce retention grant funds.  These grant funds can be used for one-time bonuses, salary subsidies for current and new staff. This applies to all childcare staff (teachers, floaters, cleaners, cooks, and admin) but excludes directors and owners. Academically Approved Family Child Care Providers may use the funds to pay substitutes. These funds are not to be used to cover regular payroll. Funding Information Each approved site will receive approximately $1K in workforce retention grant funding. Eligibility Criteria To be eligible to apply for this grant, childcare providers must meet all of the following criteria: Must be either a Type I, II or III Childcare Center or a Family Childcare Center (FCC) with Academic Approval. Schools and stand-alone Head Start Programs are not eligible for this grant opportunity. Must be located in one of the following parishes- Assumption, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John, St. Tammany, Terrebonne, or Washington. Must be in good standing with Agenda for Children, ECHO Fund, and Licensing requirements. For more information, visit Agenda for Children.

In 1999, the Louisiana State Legislature created the Millennium Trust to provide for the disposition of proceeds from the tobacco settlement. The same legislation that created the Millennium Trust, Louisiana Revised Statute (LRS) 39:98.1 39:98.5, also established the Education Excellence Fund (EEF) as a component of the Millennium Trust. The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is responsible for providing the appropriations and oversight of monies from the Education Excellence Fund with the specific purpose of ensuring that all expenditures are used to support “excellence in educational practice.” The Department distributes funds to eligible local education agencies based on student enrollment: 85% of the appropriation is distributed to local school systems and charter schools based on the number of students in the most recent Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) Budget Letter. 15% of the appropriation is distributed to approved non public schools based on the number of students as reported for the previous school year.