Quality First Scholarships

Early care and education providers enrolled in Quality First may be eligible to offer Quality First Scholarships, which help low-income families with children birth to age 5 afford quality child care. Many low-income families struggle to pay for quality child care. Some must choose between a job or leaving their children in care that is not their first choice. Quality First Scholarships help early care and education providers fill paid slots in their program and reimburse them for some of the expenses of providing quality (higher wages for more experienced and educated professionals, low staff-to-child ratios and small group sizes, etc.). The number of scholarships assigned to each site and the reimbursement rate are based on the size of the program and its Quality First Star Rating. Programs with Star Ratings in the quality levels receive more scholarships and higher reimbursements for each scholarship. Quality First Scholarships are not available in all regions of Arizona, and the number of scholarships available is limited.