San Juan County expands ECAP slots even as state cuts shrink statewide support

San Juan County health officials and early-learning providers told the Board of Health on Sept. 17 that local Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECAP) services have expanded on San Juan Island, even as state-level funding cuts have reduced ECAP capacity across Washington.

Ethna Flanagan, who presented for the county’s early-learning team, said ECAP helped reopen and expand preschool offerings in partnership with the San Juan Island School District, moving a program at Bridal Harbor Elementary from part-day to full-day and increasing slots to 12 (capacity for 15, depending on staffing and funding). Flanagan credited grants and local donors — including the Stalker Foundation and the local Community Foundation — plus partners such as the Opportunity Council and the Family Resource Center for enabling the expansion.

"One of the most valuable parts of our offering with ECAP is the wraparound family support," Flanagan said, citing family-support services that include motivational interviewing, mobility mentoring and coordination with public-health nurses for vision, hearing and immunization catch-ups.

The presenters also summarized program metrics. Flanagan reviewed a recent snapshot of 67 children enrolled for 120 days or longer: 100% had a medical home, 99% dental coverage and 97% were up to date on well-child exams. However, only 78% were fully immunized, and staff reported growing numbers of parental exemption requests.

Dr. Becky Bell, who described the San Juan Island rollout, said the ECAP–district partnership began after Head Start closed its local site. "We saw a need, put our heads together and did it," Bell said, noting early indicators show kindergarten students arriving more ready to learn.

At the same time, Katie Warren, deputy director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECAP, told the board the state eliminated 2,037 ECAP slots this year — an unprecedented cut in her 18 years — and warned of further pressure in 2026 from federal and state fiscal changes. "If the state does not backfill, we'll pay later," Warren said, urging local data collection to document impacts.

Flanagan and other presenters said San Juan County experienced a smaller cut to ECAP slots than many counties because local programs kept slots filled, but they also reported the loss of complex-needs funding: "We lost $145,000 out of $175,000," Flanagan said, forcing a discontinuation of a mental-health provider who had averaged roughly 35 counseling sessions a month.

Board members pressed for more data on unmet needs island-by-island. Councilmember Jane Fuller asked whether Lopez Island faces an unmet need; presenters said Lopez has a licensed provider (Lopez Children’s Center) with nine ECAP slots and that staff were tracking roughly 10–12 families still seeking placements from the school-district survey. Several board members recommended annually reporting service coverage versus the population of pre-K children to strengthen legislative advocacy.

The presenters stressed licensing and quality requirements: unlicensed programs such as Morning Star cannot be contracted for ECAP until they become licensed. Staff said they are offering licensing help and training (an "ECAP boot camp" and MERIT database assistance) to increase capacity and compliance.

The board noted economic barriers to access. Flanagan referred to ALICE survival-budget data showing that a single adult and one child need just over $67,000 to meet basic costs in San Juan County, while ECAP-qualifying income for many families is far lower. That gap, board members said, constrains the pool of parents who can afford local childcare even with subsidies.

The board left the presentation with several near-term follow-ups: staff will provide more detailed counts of children still needing placement by island, continue outreach to unlicensed providers about licensing, and collect impact data on the mental-health services cut for inclusion in future advocacy to state lawmakers. The county encouraged board members to visit local preschools and help communicate ECAP needs when meeting with legislators.

The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m., with the ECAP team scheduled to return with updated placement and outcomes data.