Financial Assistance with School

I think you need to go to the family and human services department, I think that's what it's called. And I think what you want want to see about applying for is TNIF or something like that. But not positve. You have to make under a certain amount to qualify for it. But it's worth a shot.

Why must you send your 3 yo to school if you can not afford it and you do not work? I suggest you go to to the park so he can interact with other children and you can work with him at home on letters, numbers, cutting, coloring skills etc.Take him to the library and read free books too.

Do you mean day care? 3 month olds don't really do "school." Have you checked with your local school district? You might be able to find something on the order of a preschool through the public school system, but I don't know about the infant. You could also check with your pediatrician's office what possible resources are available.

Free or financial assistance with what? Preschool? Here in CA there are free state operated preschools, I think it's called Head Start. You should google "Head Start" or "No child left behind" to find something in your area. You should start looking now because they usually have waiting lists.

In CA, there is no financial assistance with private daycare/preschool unless you are in welfare, but you must work full time. They will not provide financial assistance for you to send your child to preschool while you are at home. They used to pay if you were employed part time, but they have learned that it's cheaper to pay you welfare to stay home than it is for them to pay full time daycare when the parent only works part time.

Do you mean he's eligible to attend preschool and you need help with transportation to get him to and from?
The preschools in our area do not bus kids that young.
There are children's transport services in your area, but they are not free and you'd have to talk to them about whether they have an age limit.

http://childtransportationservice.com/
http://www.smileytransportation.com/

There is a debate about whether preschool is necessary at all.

http://unitedfamiliesinternational.wordpress.com/2011/03/...

If your child doesn't need to go to day care, there's no reason you can't prepare him for kindergarten yourself at home.

I wondered the same JC.

Call your worker in the morning and find out if they do child care assistance. In Oklahoma it's pretty easy to get. They even have programs that you can go to for the whole day and look for jobs. It's some sort of thing where they go to the employment office from 8-3. They all rode the shuttle and came to drop off kids and pick up at the same time each day. They all got total child care paid.

I did have one family that had either 3 or 4 kids and both mom and dad worked full time, each made over $10 per hour, quite a bit more actually but I can't remember for sure. Their co-pay was under $400 per month. They had a toddler, a 3 year old, and at least one school ager, maybe 2.

Another mom had decided to go back to work but had an adult child with disabilities who got a check each month. The girls income counted into the family income so even though the mom was only making minimum wage her co-pay was almost the full amount. She told them her daughter's money was her's to keep and she did not use any of it for herself but they said it was household income. So she quite working because it was costing her as much as she was making.

There are many programs out there to help people go to work and have child care. You just need to call your worker to find out how to apply for assistance while looking for work and then continuing it after you're employed.

Call your nearest Catholic Church and ask for help.

If you find a school you like, you might ask if they offer anything directly. I know one of the preschools we used had a financial aid thing/reduced fees/scholarship. A church-based one (as most of the preschools around here are) seem to be flexible and helpful. I'm not talking about one of those pricey "elite" schools - a few around here are more than $6K/year for freakin' preschool! - but a local church with a program.

The other suggestions for looking up Head Start are on track, too.

Our school district also has limited openings for preschool. I'm not sure if this is what Head Start uses, but it could be worth a call to your school district to see what is available.

As for why you "must get to school" at this age, that's your business. I'm a SAHM/WAHM mom and my only kiddo has been at PDO/Preschool/Pre-K his whole life. We still have a ton of time together and do many enriching things that others have mentioned while still giving him the opportunity to learn a bit more about structure and social interactions with kids and other adults. We both function better with this arrangement!

You may qualify for the 3 r old 'headstart' program in your area. Contact the local school district and ask about the qualifications. Warning though, 3 yr old slots are generally few and you have to be very dedicated to getting a slot. When I was in Lubbock, I spent the night in line to be sure I got a 3 yr old slot and many many more missed it.

If you need daycare (for the younger), call 211 and they can direct you to the local financially assisted facilities.

Also contact your church as many now provide preschools or at least mothers-day-out programs that might fit your needs.

You need to get connected with the CCMS program here. http://www.childcareassociates.org/ccms/

or
http://www.workforcesolutions.net/uploads/CCMS_eligibilit...

For your 3 yo, he won't be old enough to attend any school-sponsored pre-k program. Maybe head start.

Work with CCMS first. You should qualify and a lot of the programs on the list are great, but there are often limited spaces for infants (under 18 months) in-general, regardless of income.

Good luck.