Q: What is CEL?

A: The Centralized Eligibility List (CEL) is a County database that holds the names of families who are seeking free or reduced child care or preschool services. In San Joaquin County, CEL is administered through the San Joaquin County Office of Education.

If your family is seeking free or reduced cost to child care or preschool services you must be on CEL.

Once your application is on CEL, agencies who offer free or reduced services will use the CEL to pull your name from and contact you when there is an opening. There is no need for you to contact them.

Each County in California has a CEL database; however, the databases are not connected, so if you move out of the County, you would need to complete another CEL application for the County you moved to. To see a list of County CEL's go to www.sjcel.org and click on the link titled, "Family Resources"

Q: Who are the CEL Participating Agencies that will see my application?

A: Currently San Joaquin County CEL is serving thousands of children seeking subsidized child care and preschool programs. These agencies listed below use the CEL as their wait list:

- Family Resource & Referral Center
- Creative Child Care, Inc.
- County School Districts—Subsidized State Preschool
- Stockton Unified
- Lincoln Unified
- Lodi Unified
- Tracy Unified
- Manteca Unified
- Child Development, Inc.
- Economic Opportunity Commission
- El Concilio Child Development
- Hawkins-Thompson Child Development Center
- Head Start Child Development Council
- First Step Children’s Center
- McKinley Village (Tracy)
- National Human Development
- S.J. Delta College Child Development Center
- Professional Association for Child Education Alternate Payment Program(PACEAPP)

Q: When will I be contacted from the CEL?

A: There are many different agencies that provide child care or preschool programs for free or at a reduced cost to families in need. They all have slightly different requirements, some help low income families, some help those with disabilities, some are aimed at migrant communities, and so on.

If you are eligible for subsidized child care or preschool services, you will be contacted by a child care agency or a school district for state preschool when they have an opening for your child. There is no need for you to contact them.

There is no way to determine exactly how long a family may wait for services. The CEL in not a first come, first serve list. Priority is based on your gross monthly income and the total of family members living in the home. There are some other factors that can make a family have higher priority, such as a child who has an open CPS case or is an at-risk child, and a child who has a sibling already enrolled in state subsidized child care. Your family's wait time can be anywhere from a few days on CEL to up to a year.

Q: What will I need to provide while filling out a CEL application online?

A: You will need to know the following information:

Parent/Guardian – Contact information about the one or two main adults who care for the child(ren) in the home. This can be the parent, guardian, step-parent, foster parent, grandparent, or other adult who cares for the child(ren) in the home.

Your home address (street, city, and zip) is important and be sure to include your "apartment number", if applicable. If your address is a PO Box, we will also need your "physical" street address and zip code as this is how we determine the school attendance area for preschool.

Your Day Time phone number is VERY important. Please make sure that your day time phone number is most current and that it is a number that you can be reached by during the hours of 8:00am and 4:00pm Monday through Firday or that it at least has voice mail so that an agency may leave a message.

If you are employed, you will be asked to provide the CEL with the employer's contact information. This is if we can not reach you at your home number when a vacany for child care or preschool beocmes available we may call your employer to reach you.

You will be required to state what the reason for child care is, such as, working, seeking employment, homeless, in a vocational training, etc.

Children – You will be required to fill out information of ALL children in the home regardless if they need child care/preschool or not. You will need to know each child's date of birth as this is how the CEL keeps track of each child. For the child that does not need any services at all, please check “No” to the question, "Does this child need services?" and the only information required for a child who is not in need of services will be the child's full name, date of birth, and gender. For the child needing child care, preschool, or both you will need to fill in all the information that is asked about the child.

Income – You will need to give us an accurate estimate of your gross "monthly" income including other sources such as, alimony, child support, unemployment, disability, etc.

Please make sure that you are providing CEL with the most accurate information, as you will be asked to prove the information before any services can be provided.

Q: Why do I need to update my application every three months?

A: It is important to update your application if your monthly income changes, your family size changes, or your phone numbers or home address has changed. Your contact information (address, phone numbers, etc.) are very important to keep current so that you may be contacted once an opening becomes available.

If you receive a postcard or a letter please immediately call CEL at 209-953-2121 or 209-468-9245 to make sure that CEL has your latest information. If we do not hear from you within 30 days after receiving the postcard or letter, you will automatically be removed from the CEL eligibility list. To get back on the CEL list you would need to contact a CEL Participating Agency or call CEL at 209-953-2121 or 209-468-9245.

Q: I was told I am inactivated or no longer on the CEL, what do I do if I need to be on the CEL?

A: You can be re-activated or be put back on the CEL by the CEL Participating Agency that added your application to the list OR you may call the San Joaquin County Office of Education - CEL directly at 209-953-2121 or 209-468-9245.

Q: I forgot my username and password, what do I do now?

A: The only way a family would have a username and password is if they went to the CEL web site and added their own application directly online.

If you forgot your username and password of your online application, you must follow the instructions under the link "Update My Application". You will be required to give your email address and your date of birth - if the system finds a match, then your username and password will be displayed in your email inbox.

If an agency added your family to the CEL or you filled out a hard copy application, you will not have a username or password and you do not need one. To update your application, you would need to call 209-953-2121.

Q: How can CEL help me?

A: With CEL, you can easily gain access to multiple state subsidized child care and preschool programs through ONE application. This improves your chances of obtaining child care or preschool at locations of your choice and ensures that each child care opening is offered to the most eligible families.

Q: How do I apply on CEL?

A: There are 4 different ways to apply:
1. If you have access to a computer with Internet connection, you can log onto www.sjcel.org, click on the link titled, "Begin Online Application" and follow the online instructions to fill out your application.
2. If you have access to a computer with Internet connection, you can log onto www.sjcel.org and click on the link titled, "Hard Copy Application (PDF)" to print out a hard copy, complete and mail into CEL (CEL address is located on the application).
3. You can call or stop by any participating agency and they will assist you with the application process (see the link titled, "Participating Agencies" to retreive a list of local agencies who utilize CEL).
4. You can call the San Joaquin County Office of Education at (209) 953-2121 or (209) 468-9245 for assistance with the application process.

Q: How do I know my CEL application has been successfully entered and is on CEL?

A: If you entered your own application online, you will receive a welcome email from the San Joaquin County Office of Education confirming your application was received.

If you had assistance with your application, the participating agency that assisted you will provide verbal confirmation that your application was successfully entered on the CEL.

PLEASE NOTE: As long as you have an active application on the CEL, you will receive a post card from the San Joaquin County Office of Education every 3-6 months requesting an application update. If you do not respond after receiving the update post card, your application will be removed from the CEL. Once removed, you must call the San Joaquin County Office of Education at (209) 953-2121 in order to reapply.

Q: What does “subsidized” mean?

A: Subsidized child care is assistance to low-income families to cover part or all of their child care or preschool costs, depending on their financial need.

Q: What is the State Monthly Income Eligibility Requirement?

A: You have to meet income requirements based on your family size (see below). The California Department of Education, Child Development Division, establishes an income ceiling.

Family Size Monthly Income
1 – 2 ---------------->$3,518
3 -------------------->$3,769
4 -------------------->$4,188
5 -------------------->$4,858
6 -------------------->$5,528
7 -------------------->$5,653
8 -------------------->$5,779
9 -------------------->$5,904
10 ------------------->$6,030
11 ------------------->$6,156
12 ------------------->$6,281

Example: Family size of 3 (mother, father and one child) with a gross monthly income of $3,800 is over income.

Q: What is a "need for services" or "Reason for needing services?" mean?

A: You must have a need for "child care" by choosing one or more of the following reasons:*

• Working
• Actively looking for work
• Attending a vocational training
• Medically incapacitated and unable to care for your child for part of the day
- Homeless or seeking permanent housing

If you are seeking only a part day educational preschool program (3 to 3 1/2 hours per day) you do not have to show a need above AND your child is 3 or 4 years old on or before December 2nd of the current school year. If this is the case, on the CEL application you would check off "Part-day educational preschool experience for child" as the reason for needing services.

If the child living in the home has an open CPS case or has been declared At-Risk by a professional, then on the CEL application you would check off "Child is current CPS or At-Risk child" as the reason for needing services.

*Depending on program requirements, "needs" may vary

Q: How can I get subsidized child care?

A: You will first need to submit a CEL application to place your child’s name on the eligibility list. After your application is received your name is placed on the CEL. When funding becomes available or a subsidized program has an opening, they will begin calling families for a preliminary screening starting with the family that is in highest need. You do not automatically receive subsidized child care by submitting a CEL application.

Q: How do I know if I am eligible for subsidized child care?

A: First, you have to meet income requirements based on your family size (see below). The California Department of Education, Child Development Division, establishes an income ceiling.

Family Size Family Monthly Income
1 – 2 not to exceed $3,518
3 not to exceed $3,769
4 not to exceed $4,188
5 not to exceed $4,858
6 not to exceed $5,528
7 not to exceed $5,653
8 not to exceed $5,779
9 not to exceed $5,904
10 not to exceed $6,030
11 not to exceed $6,156
12 not to exceed $6,281

Second, you must have a need for child care for one or more of the following reasons:*

• Working
• Actively looking for work
• Attending vocational training
• Medically incapacitated and unable to care for your child for part of the day
- Homeless or seeking permanent housing
• Receiving Child Protective Services (CPS)or child is declared At-Risk by a professional
- Part-day educational preschool only (3 to 3 1/2 hours per day)

To find out if you qualify, contact any participating agency or program listed on the home page.

*Depending on program requirements, needs may vary

Q: What is the difference between Child Care and Part-time Educational Preschool?

A: Child care is care that can be full day, part day (before & after school), evenings, or weekends. Child care is typically available 12 months out of the year. The service includes an educational component within the structure of the day. For a family to be eligible for child care they must be within the State monthly income guidelines and show a “need for services”.

Part-day educational preschool is not child care; the program typically operates 5 days per week, only 3 to 4 hours per day and follows the school calendar where the program runs 9 months out of the year. The program offers developmentally appropriate educational experiences for children three and four years of age, with four year olds being the priority. Families seeking the part-day educational preschool program do not have to have a “need for services”; the family may have a monthly income 15% over the State monthly income guidelines.