Preschool Partnership Tier I Planning FAQ

Preschool Partnership Tier I Planning FAQ

*Please keep in mind that although some questions refer to Tier II and Tier III, those RFA’s have not been released yet, only Tier I*

How long (years) is this money going to be available to continue the program? What would you do when there isn’t any grant money left to support the program?

The Preschool Partnership Grant funding is available for the 2017-2018 school year. Future rounds will be contingent upon KDE receiving state funds for preschool partnership grants. Applicants are expected to identify resources needed to sustain services beyond the grant period.

How much does it cost and how difficult is it to obtain a child care license?

Start-up and operating costs for child care vary based on location (urban/rural), licensing standards, staffing, administration, programming, building occupancy and other considerations (health, transportation, social services, etc.). For more information about the cost of child care, please contact Child Care Aware of Kentucky (

Can you also charge tuition for students that are over income that want to utilize the full day program?

Over-income, non-eligible students may be served on a space-available basis. They cannot be counted for preschool state-funding purposes.

What are the requirements for the lead teacher in the childcare room?

At partnership sites, if there are any areas where regulations are in question, the partnership must adhere to the higher standard. At partnership sites where preschool students are enrolled, the teacher must have IECE certification.

Would it be possible to write a partnership grant that would partner with the Head start portion of our program to provide full day services for the State Funded Preschool Children?

I can say that preschool and Head Start programs were allowed to partner for Tier 2 funds during the first round, as long as services in the full utilization agreement were not duplicated and federal Head Start funds were not supplanted. Look for release of the preschool partnership grant tier 2 application in early April, at which point more detailed questions can be answered.

I received the email about the preschool partnership grant and am interested in applying. We are a licensed child care facility with CCAP children. I was wondering how this grant would pertain to our facility and how we would go about beginning the application process.

Only school districts are eligible to apply for the grant, in partnership with child care providers, and I encourage you to contact one or more districts in your area about partnership opportunities.

I just received this and was wondering how I know what tier my certified child care is. I know with the food program it's a tier 2. Would it be the same with grant?

The term “tier” is unique to the grant and refers to three different funding opportunities: (1) planning; (2) implementation; and (3) continuation. Only school districts are eligible to apply for the grant, in partnership with child care providers, so please consider contacting one or more districts in your area about partnership opportunities.

Here are additional resources:

School District Contact Information

Competitive Grant Information

Preschool Partnership Grant Information

Can they apply for more than one T2 grant?

Yes. However, applicants may not apply for T1, T2 and/or T3 grants simultaneously.*Please keep in mind the Tier II or Tier II grants have not been released yet, only Tier I.*

Can they apply for T1 again if they received it last year and still need to plan longer?

No. They may apply for a T2 grant.

Can they apply for T3 AND T2? Or what if they want to add another classroom on top of what the grant covered last year?

No. They may apply for more than one T2 or T3 grant. Note that districts receiving T2 in 2016-2017 cannot apply for another T2 grant, but they are eligible for T3 grants.

When will the funding amount be released?

The Tier 1 MOA effective date is anticipated to be July 1, 2017 and funds will be eligible for use from the MOA effective date through June 30, 2018.

Do kids have to be receiving CCAP benefits or do they just have to be eligible?

Children must be eligible for CCAP services.

Are programs required to complete a Tier I Partnership Planning Grant Program before getting a Tier II Partnership Implementation Grant?

No. The Tier 2 Preschool Partnership Grant funding opportunity will be open to new applicants (i.e., districts that did not receive either Tier 1 or Tier 2 funding in 2016-2017) and districts receiving Tier 1 funding in 2016-2017.

I own a child care center with an existing preschool and will be expanding. Do I still qualify to apply and will I be able to use funds for the existing preschool?

Only school districts are eligible to apply for the grant in partnership with child care providers.Child care providers are encouraged to contact one or more districts in their areas about partnership opportunities. District contact information is available on KDE’s Open House web site:

If we currently working toward our level 3 status can we still apply or do we have to wait until next year?

Districts eligible for Tier 1 funding may partner with child care providers working toward achieving level 3 status in the Kentucky All STARS system.

I was unable to attend the Webinar this morning. Where can I find the recorded webinar to watch it? I tried to click on the KDE Competitive Grants page, but could not find today’s Webinar.

The recorded webinar can be found here:

I have been in contact with one daycare that recently opened in our District. However, the director indicated that she wasn’t sure if she would be able to commit to getting her facility to a Star 3 Level. She currently hasn’t participated in any Star Level ratings. However, she thinks she may have to in order to continue receiving CCAP funding. Is a letter from the daycare indicating they do not want to participate evidence enough that this facility isn’t interested at this time?

For purposes of this grant, school districts are encouraged to partner with child care centers seeking to provide full-day, high-quality services. A three star rating in Kentucky All STARS is not required to receive Tier 1 grant funding; however, grant funds must be used to develop a comprehensive plan to deliver full-day, high-quality early childhood services to CCAP eligible preschool children. “Full-day” means at least 6 hours per day, four or five days per week. “High-quality” means at least three stars in the Kentucky All STARS system.

I am the Assistant Director at a Child's Place. We were looking into different grants this year. We have never applied for one so I was wanting to get a little information on both tiers, and wondering which one we should apply for. We are a licensed type one center. We are licensed for 99 children. We have children from 6 weeks to 10 years of age. We recently received 4 Stars from KY All-stars. I was just seeing which grant would benefit our center the most? We need things such as outside equipment, and classroom materials and furniture.

Only school districts are eligible to apply for the grant in partnership with child care providers.Child care providers are encouraged to contact one or more districts in your area about partnership opportunities. Resources include the following:

School District Contact Information

Competitive Grant Information

Preschool Partnership Grant Information

Are districts required to apply for – and have been awarded - the Tier I Planning grant before applying for the Tier II Implementation grant? Can you provide this information?