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Episcopal Children's Services reports increased eligibility after state income-change; about 750 local children served year to date
Summary
Britney Spangler of Episcopal Children's Services told commissioners the organization serves about 750 Putnam County children in school-readiness programs (about 549 from low-income families), is enrolling for 2026-27 VPK, and said a recent state change to eligibility thresholds is increasing family access.
Britney Spangler of Episcopal Children's Services gave the board a quarterly update, saying the program currently serves roughly 750 Putnam County children through school-readiness services, about 549 of whom are from low-income families. Spangler told commissioners the program has 29 contracted child-care providers for school readiness, 10 family child-care homes among them, and 446 children currently participating in the voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) program.
"We have an average of 750 Putnam County children receiving the school readiness services with about 549 of those being from low-income families," Spangler said. She also described ongoing outreach: "We're currently enrolling still for school readiness ... our VPK program has just opened up for the 26-27 year. Families can apply online."
Spangler said a state policy change shifted the entry-level income calculation from 150% of the federal poverty level to 55% of the state median income, effectively raising the income threshold and allowing more families to qualify. She told the board that school-readiness funding is primarily federal and requires a 6% local match, while VPK is state-funded.
Commissioner Larry Harvey thanked Spangler for the transparency and asked how the program makes up its required match; Spangler said local matches come from the county commission, the City of Palaca, the United Way and private donations where available. "We are required to do a 6% match," Spangler said, noting Putnam County contributes $5,000 and the City of Palaca recently increased its contribution from $3,000 to $5,000.
Spangler asked commissioners to consider community outreach and event participation as a way to raise awareness of services; commissioners said they would consider funding requests during budget discussions.
The presentation concluded with no further questions; staff and commissioners thanked Episcopal Children's Services for ongoing enrollment and outreach work.
