Get free or low-cost child care and preschool in San Francisco
Most families in San Francisco qualify for free or reduced tuition for child care and preschool through the Department of Early Childhood's (DEC) Early Learning For All initiative.Eligibility
Eligibility for Early Learning For All depends on income and family size.
Finding a Program
Families can choose from more than 500 high-quality programs in the Early Learning For All network.
How to apply
You can apply online or visit a resource and referral agency to apply in-person.
For more information about ways to apply, see below.
Ways to apply for Early Learning For All
Apply online
Applying to Early Learning For All online is easy:
- Answer a few quick questions about your address, family size, and income to see if you may qualify.
- Create a MyCareConnect account and answer a few more questions about your family and child care needs.
- Explore child care programs in our network and choose the ones you're interested in. You can search on your own using our program map and filters, or get help from a specialist.
- Submit your application. We'll automatically send it to the programs you selected. Each program will then contact you about the final steps to verify your eligibility and enroll your child.
Get help from a Resource and Referral Agency
There are 3 community-based organizations that can help check if you are eligible for free or reduced tuition and apply.
1. Children’s Council of San Francisco Phone: 415-343-3300 Email: rr@childrenscouncil.org
2. Wu Yee Children’s Services Phone: 844-644-4300 Email: randr@wuyee.org
For families experiencing homelessness:
3. Compass Family Services Phone: 415-644-0504 (ext. 2303) Email: access@compass-sf.org
Contact a child care program or preschool in the ELFA network directly
- You can choose from more than 500 programs in the Early Learning For All network.
- Program staff will verify your family size and income.
- They will work with the Department of Early Childhood (DEC) to enroll you in Early Learning For All and get financial aid.
About Early Learning For All
In San Francisco, we want every child to have access to quality early care and education. Early Learning For All helps families enroll in great programs without cost as a barrier.
The Early Learning For All network includes more than 500 early care and education programs. These programs support children’s learning, physical development, and social skills. Four-year-olds can also attend Transitional Kindergarten (TK) for free through the school district. The result is lots of affordable options across the city where children can learn and grow.
Early learning program quality
Early learning programs in DEC’s Early Learning For All network provide children with safe, high-quality care. This care helps children grow and learn.
DEC helps programs improve over time. DEC offers clear standards, coaching, training, and other helpful tools. This support helps early educators keep learning and improving, so they can help build a strong future for our city.
Early learning facilities
Safe, beautiful, and inspiring spaces help every child have a great early learning experience. DEC invests to fix and update current child care sites and build new ones. This helps San Francisco:
- Add more licensed child care spaces.
- Bring child care to neighborhoods that don’t have enough.
- Ensure all families can access indoor and outdoor spaces that support children’s learning, creativity, and imagination.
- The ELFA network helps parents access free or low-cost early care and education.
DEC is also a lead partner and funder of San Francisco’s Children & Nature Collaborative. This group works to ensure children and youth in the city can play, learn, and grow in nature every day. DEC helps by:
- Improving outdoor play areas at child care sites
- Training early educators to teach through nature
- Providing safe, age-appropriate nature learning tools and toys
Workforce Initiative
Early childhood educators are an important part of San Francisco. They help young children learn and grow. DEC knows that their work matters and wants to make sure they earn fair wages. DEC also wants to support educators' professional development and higher learning.
DEC's Workforce Initiative uses money from "Baby" Proposition C (2018), which voters approved. It pays educators working in Early Learning For All programs a living wage or higher. It also helps educators advance their own education. This supports strong, high-quality early care and education across the city for years.
Understanding family size and income for ELFA
Who is included in “family size”?
For Early Learning for All (ELFA), “family size” includes only these people:
- Parents or caregivers who live in the home
- Their children under 18 who depend on them
Other adults living in the home are not included. This means grandparents, adult siblings, and other relatives do not count. Programs must keep proof of family size. They need copies of birth certificates for every child under 18.
What is considered “income”?
For ELFA, “income” is the total gross income of everyone included in the family size. Gross income is the money earned before taxes or other deductions.
Income is not just money from a job. It can come from other sources, too. Programs must collect proof of income for everyone included in the family size. The proof must be dated within 30 days before certification, and programs need to keep copies on file to decide if a family qualifies.
How do programs join the ELFA network?
Licensed early care and education programs can apply to join the Early Learning for All network during our annual application period each spring. To learn more, visit our Provider Portal