In the years Shannon Turner served in the U.S. Army, he saw a lot of the world. He was stationed in Germany, deployed to the Gulf War in the Middle East, and was eventually transferred to Washington state. Beginning as a private, Turner worked his way up to the rank of sergeant.
Now retired from the military and living in Bremerton, Turner, a father of four, said serving in the Army was a good way to support his family. But it could still be tough to make ends meet. He said that’s especially true for lower-ranking service members.
“There were times we had to go to food banks, or a church to help get funds to kind of help pay the rent or the electricity bill,” he said. “It's definitely hard.”
It was sometimes difficult to find childcare, and there were moments when the requirements of military life wore on his family. Turner said it was especially stressful when he was deployed.
“I was always concerned about: ‘How is my family doing?” he said. “Do they have everything they need?”
Washington state lawmakers recently filed new legislation to provide more support to members of the armed forces who are parents of young children. Their proposal would expand military families’ access to Washington's Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, or ECEAP.
The program provides free preschool for 3 and 4-year-olds from low-income households. It’s similar to the federal government’s early education program Head Start. Enrolled students are provided with meals and medical screenings.
Legislation filed in the state House and Senate would raise the income caps for the free preschool program to help more military families enroll their children. Education advocates believe this is a step in the right direction, as do people like Turner.
Turner didn’t find out about ECEAP until after he had left the military and was looking for a job. His family qualified for the free preschool program, so he enrolled his daughter and soon saw that the classes were helping her.
“You learn how to start writing, you learn how to break words down,” Turner said. "It teaches you how to play with other kids, and it allows you to grow.”
Through the program’s medical screenings, Turner found out that his daughter was having hearing issues and was able to get her the care she needed. He described ECEAP as “life-changing.”
Turner wants state lawmakers to make it easier for parents serving in the armed forces to get this kind of support for their kids.
“Military families go through a lot,” he said. “The last thing they should have to worry about is their childcare or having their kids enrolled in school.”
More military families
The legislation filed in the state House and Senate has received bipartisan support.
“ECEAP is a critical early learning program, and this bill ensures it can better serve military families whose childcare needs don’t always align with standard eligibility rules,” said Democratic state Sen. T’wina Nobles, the primary sponsor of the proposal in the state Senate, in a news release.
If passed, Noble’s bill would allow military households making up to 60% of the state median income to enroll children into ECEAP when there is space available in a classroom. Students from low-income households would still be prioritized for enrollment.
Under the legislation, a military household of three in 2026 would have to make less than $6,000 a month to qualify. This expansion would also include members of the National Guard. The legislation isn’t expected to impact the operating costs of the program or the state’s budget.
The proposal to expand access to the free preschool classes comes as the state is preparing for the program to grow. Right now, it serves more than 14,000 students. The state expects to increase the number of slots available in the coming years because of a gift from the Ballmer Group, a philanthropic organization. In November, state leaders announced the Ballmer Group would commit up to $175 million a year over the next decade to help expand ECEAP by up to 10,000 spots.
This comes after the state made cuts to ECEAP last year, which reduced the number of slots available and eliminated funding for services provided to families with infants and toddlers. The Ballmer Group’s gift is contingent on state leaders halting funding reductions to the preschool program for 10 years.
Meanwhile, Gov. Bob Ferguson has proposed capping enrollment in the state’s Working Connections Child Care Program, which is a separate program that helps low income households afford childcare. Childcare advocates say this could cause thousands of households to lose access to subsidized childcare.
Help for military households
The Washington Association of Head Start & ECEAP supports the legislation to expand the early education program. Its executive director, Joel Ryan, said even though a lot of military households could benefit from ECEAP, as it stands now many have incomes that are too high to qualify.
“Often, these families are making just above the cut off that ECEAP allows,” he said. “We’re creating a little bit more flexibility in the ECEAP statute so that those families will be able to enroll.”
Ryan said many military families may still have financial issues, even if they outpace the current income limits. He points to evidence that military families often face food insecurity and that their children are likely to struggle academically.
“I was surprised by the depth of poverty and the limited resources that are available to families,” he said. “Even childcare on the base is hard to access.”
Still, Ryan is worried that Ferguson’s proposal to cap childcare subsidies could affect families who qualify for ECEAP and Working Connections Child Care.
South Sound Military & Communities Partnership is an organization that advocates for military families and communities near Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Pierce County. Its program manager, Maria Tobin, explained that Washington’s high cost of living can be a shock for people moving here from other parts of the country.
“They get a stark reality when they come here, recognizing how expensive the gas is, how far away they’re going to have to live, how much groceries cost here,” she said.
Tobin said expanding access to the state’s free preschool program could give military spouses the time they need to get a job. The amount of class time students receive varies among providers, but they can range from 2.5 to 10 hours. Classes are held four to five days a week.
“It’s not only the educational component, but it allows military families to have that second income. That’s extremely important,” she said.
