2009-2011 - Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

CHILDCARE ELIGIBILITY & ENROLLMENT
Any child attending elementary school in Santa Monica or Malibu within the SMMUSD
is eligible for CREST Childcare. CREST programs operate on a nondiscriminatory
basis. All efforts are made to include children with special needs. Please speak to a
site coordinator (Upper CREST) or lead teacher (Primary CREST) if your child has
special needs. Requests for modifications to programs or policies are considered on an
individual basis.
ENROLLMENT & REGISTRATION
Enrollment for Childcare is ongoing. Continuing enrollment begins in spring for the following school year
for families currently enrolled in CREST Childcare. Children are admitted according to the waiting list
procedure established by the State Department of Education.
A non-refundable annual registration fee is charged at the time a child is enrolled for full-fee paying families.
This fee is waived for families receiving state subsidies and City financial assistance.
Emergency cards must be filled out at the time of enrollment. Parents are required to keep all documents
updated throughout the school year. Emergency cards are critical. They must be complete and
accurate.
All health requirements must be met before attendance is permitted.
Childcare fees must be paid for each child in advance.
Eligibility for enrollment requires that fee payments be current
for all CREST programs.
This section applies only to Primary CREST participants
ENROLLMENT
Children are enrolled in the Child Development Center according to all State eligibility/selection
requirements. We are required to place all interested applicants on the California Centralized Eligibility List
(CEL). This helps ensure participant access to appropriate childcare services within the State so families are
not unnecessarily waiting for childcare assistance.
THE CENTRALIZED ELIGIBILITY LIST (CEL)
California Education Code (EC) Section 8227 requires all Child Development contractors to participate in
the county CEL “to be eligible to enter into an agreement with the California Department of Education.”
The CEL is a confidential database maintained by the County of Los Angeles and State of California.
Families seeking services through State subsidized programs are entered into this database. State subsidized
programs must identify eligible families from this database in order to enroll the highest priority families.
NEED CRITERIA (State Requirement)
The Child Development Center selects families for enrollment from the CEL based upon the greatest need
(as established by the State of California). This “Need Criteria” includes family income, family size, parent
working or attending school/training (including online courses – see page 18) during center hours, child
protective services, and all other requirements set forth by the State of California. These areas are
considered when determining eligibility and priority ranking. Questions regarding the State eligibility
requirements and priority ranking can be forwarded to the Child Development Services Office.
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