The Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program provides applicants work or have worked in early childhood education and are seeking additional credentials and/or a degree in early childhood education scholarship funding to pursue credentials and advancement of already-held degrees in early childhood education.

N/A

Public Act 103-0589 and Public Act 103-0588

Pending

To help pay the applicant's total cost of attendance for an academic year after other financial aid received, up to $7,500

Yes

N/A

Individuals;

Applicants must: 1) Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen or meet the undocumented student criteria of the RISE Act. 2) Be a member of the incumbent workforce, currently working or having worked in the early childhood field (in either a licensed or license-exempt facility), including home-based child care (e.g., family, friend, neighbor), center-/community-based child care, Preschool for All programs, school-based preschool settings, and Head Start programs, that serve children from birth to age 5. Acceptable positions include teachers, assistant teachers, directors, family child care providers and assistants. Applicants must provide documentation confirming their current membership in the Gateways to Opportunity® Registry. a) A licensed facility is a child care program in a center or home (family child care) that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Most programs that serve more than three children aged 0 – 12 in a center or home are required to be licensed. Public and private schools and programs in other settings may not be required to be licensed and are typically categorized as "license-exempt", if serving children aged three and older. b) License-exempt refers to child care that is not required to be licensed by DCFS. They may include programs operated by public or private elementary school systems, high schools or institutions of higher learning; programs conducted on federal government premises; and other programs recognized or registered with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), if children in the program are aged three and older. 3) Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment on a full- or part-time (at least 3 credit hours) basis at the undergraduate level at a public or non-profit private 2- or 4-year Gateways-entitled and Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) member institution, and be pursuing at least one of the following: a) an Associate of Applied Science degree (or related certificate) in early childhood education or an associate degree with a concentration in early childhood at an approved college; or b) a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, with or without a Professional Educator License. 4) Maintain satisfactory academic progress as established by your college. 5) Complete the online application process by submitting a complete Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity Scholarship Program application and a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid (Alternative Application) on or before by the ISAC-established date in order to receive priority access to funding. 6) Be certified as meeting eligibility requirements by the college at which you will use the scholarship. 7) Not be in default on any federal student loan, nor owe a refund on any State or federal grant. If you are in default, you may re-establish your eligibility.

Individuals

Direct Payments for Specific Use

Education

The application process requires proof of employment as part of the incumbent workforce through an Eligibility Verification Form. Incumbent workforce is defined as having worked in the early childhood industry (in either a licensed or license-exempt facility), including home-based child care (e.g., family, friend, neighbor), center-/community-based child care, Preschool for All programs, school-based preschool settings, and Head Start programs, that serve children from birth to age 5. Acceptable positions include teachers, assistant teachers, directors, family child care providers and assistants. An Eligibility Verification Form from the Gateways Registry must be downloaded and/or printed and then uploaded when completing the application. You will not be allowed to proceed through the application without uploading the required documentation, so it is recommended to obtain and print your verification form before starting the online application. No other documentation of your employment history will be accepted. Registry members will enter through the Dashboard Login to access the form. Follow these instructions to access your Eligibility Verification Form. If you're not already a member, you can complete your registration on the site and then obtain your verification form. You must be a current Gateways Registry member to qualify for the scholarship. The Eligibility Verification Form contains members' employment history, with assigned position codes. For award consideration, at least one of the position codes must be an eligible code, and the job title for your most recent position reported on your ECACE application must match what is listed on the Eligibility Verification Form. If you have prior employment that is not listed on your Eligibility Verification Form, you may request that it be added by completing the Reporting Prior Employment for ECACE Scholarship form. Once the information has been added (usually 2 business days), you will receive an e-mail notification, at which point you will be able to again access the Registry and obtain an updated Eligibility Verification Form. The updated form can then be uploaded during the application process.

N/A

The 2024-25 ECACE Scholarship Program application is no longer being accepted. An ECACE Scholarship application must be submitted for each academic year in which benefits are to be used. Applicants are also required to complete the FAFSA or Alternative Application for the same academic year that you are applying for the scholarship. To determine your eligibility for the scholarship, the ECACE-participating Illinois college(s) at which you plan to use the award must be listed on your FAFSA or Alternative Application (see below if attending more than one college during the same term). The Student Aid Index (SAI) from the information you provide on the FAFSA or Alternative Application is used to prioritize awarding, although you do not need to demonstrate financial need to receive the award. You are encouraged to complete and submit both the ECACE application and the FAFSA/Alternative Application on or before the date for priority access to funding. The priority access to funding date for the 2024-25 academic year was August 11, 2024. Untimely applications (i.e., those received after that date) continued to be considered for as long as funding remained available after timely, qualified applicants had been awarded. A notification is sent to applicants after a final decision has been made regarding their award status. On the ECACE application, you will be asked to list the college you plan to attend. If you are undecided, list your first choice; if necessary, the college of record can be changed after your application has been submitted. See below if attending more than one college during the same term. You will also be asked to provide the job title for your most recent position, which must match what is listed on the Eligibility Verification Form. See below for information about the Eligibility Verification Form.

Applications are processed in date-received order. Renewal applicants (applicants who were paid ECACE Scholarship benefits in the previous academic year) whose application is received on or before the priority for access to funding date will receive priority consideration for awarding. ISAC prioritizes recipients from among the neediest of applicants, according to information from the FAFSA or Alternative Application. Qualified applicants may receive ECACE Scholarship funds only up to the amount by which their cost of attendance exceeds the amount of other financial aid they are receiving, up to $7,500.

After you submit your ECACE Scholarship application, the process is as follows: You will immediately receive an e-mail confirming that your application was received at ISAC. Application processing time may be up to 4 weeks. Be sure the financial aid office at your college knows you will be enrolling and that you have submitted an ECACE Scholarship Program application. If your application, including required documentation, is incomplete, you will receive a letter from ISAC explaining the reason(s) and advising you how to resolve the issue. If, based on information you provided on your application, you are not eligible, you will receive a Notice of Ineligibility. Once ISAC determines that both the ECACE Scholarship application and the FAFSA or Alternative Application have been submitted, you will receive a letter stating that your application is considered complete. Unless you need to change any of your application data (see Changes to Application Data below), there is nothing more for you to do at this point. Your college will certify your eligibility and request payment on your behalf. Program funds are disbursed directly to the college. If the college determines you are not eligible, you will receive a Notice of Ineligibility.

Applicants are encouraged to complete and submit both the ECACE application and the FAFSA on or before each year's priority consideration date, which is announced when the application is made available. For 2024-25 academic year, August 11, 2024 was the priority for access to funding date. Untimely applications (i.e., those received after that date) were accepted through late August.

Application processing time may be up to 4 weeks.

N/A

Applicants must apply annually.

N/A

Awards are available for undergraduate study at public and non-profit private 2- and 4-year Gateways-entitled and Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity member institutions, with priority given to renewal applicants. The scholarship will help pay the applicant's total cost of attendance for an academic year after other financial aid received, up to $7,500. Please note that awards for the summer term are no longer available. Recipients of the scholarship are expected to continue or return to teaching or direct services in the early childhood care and education field in Illinois after they complete their program of study.

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

The grant is applicable total cost of attendance, minus other financial aid received, up to $7,500

Aims to address the shortage of qualified early childhood educators by encouraging the pursuit of credentials and advancement of already-held degrees in early childhood education, with an aim toward building a strong, well-prepared workforce.

ECACE is exempt from the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) and the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (30 ILCS 708) because awards are paid on behalf of an individual beneficiary.

500 West Monroe, 3rd Floor Springfield, IL 62704

1755 Lake Cook Road Deerfield, IL 60015-5209

https://www.isac.org/students/during-college/types-of-financial-aid/scholarships/ecace.html

ISAC offers programs designed specifically for individuals studying to become teachers, including the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship and the Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW). The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois and federal TEACH Grant programs are also available.

N/A

FY 2025 : $5,000,000