Preschool tuition assistance program accepting applications

Families needing preschool tuition assistance for the 201819 school year may apply to the Preschool Open Doors program.

May 31 is the deadline for applications. Eligible children were born between Aug. 1, 2013, and July 31, 2014.

Priority is given to children with special needs or at-risk factors. Household size and monthly gross income also are used to determine priority enrollments.

Applications need to be submitted to the program office at 560 N. Nimitz Highway, Suite 218, Honolulu 96817; via fax at (808) 694-3066; or email at PODAdmin@patch-hi.org.

The applicable preschool year is from July 1 through June 30, 2019.

In Hawaii, the cost of sending a child to preschool can be out of reach for families on tight budgets. But, with the assistance of $11.6 million in subsidies in the 2018-19 preschool year, the Preschool Open Doors program can help eligible families pay for preschool and help keiki gain essential skills to be successful in school and in life.

The program is operated by People Attentive To Children on behalf of the state Department of Human Services. The program provides tuition subsidies to qualifying low- and moderate-income families.

Applications are available for download from www.patchhawaii.org. Or, applicants may call (808) 7912130 on Oahu or (800) 7465620 toll-free from Neighbor Islands to request an application by mail.

PATCH is a Hawaii nonprofit whose mission is to support and improve the quality and availability of care for the young people of Hawaii.