Dear Provider,
It is time again for the Louisiana Department of Education's (LDE) statewide Child Count! The October 1 Child Count for all sites is due by October 10th, 2022. This information is used to determine the percentage of at-risk children who are being served in publicly-funded early childhood programs, how many children should be assessed in GOLD, NOEEN funding requests, and more.
Child Count is a critical LDE-mandated deadline. It is very important that you submit your information promptly within.
Child Count is a count of publicly-funded children only. Private pay students must not be included in your responses.
Before you begin, you will need to gather the following information about the children who were enrolled (rather than in attendance) in your center as of October 1, 2022:
- Number of children enrolled, by age group
- Number of children enrolled, by funding stream*
- Number of publicly-funded children enrolled, by race or ethnicity
- Number of publicly-funded children enrolled who are homeless, in foster care, English language learners, or gifted, by age group
Funding stream is determined by the source of payment for the child's seat. For example, LA-4, NSECD, Head Start, Tuition, etc. Children should only be counted in one funding category.
Children should only be counted in one race/ethnicity category. Children of two or more races can be accounted for in the "two or more races" option.
Child Count should only include children who were enrolled as of October 1, 2022, not children who were enrolled after.
Do NOT include Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) or Food/Nutrition funding. Only count publicly-funded children who are enrolled during the “regular” school day. Part-time children are not included in child count.
Your Child Count survey is due before COB October 10th, 2022. Non-responsive programs may be reported to LDE. We encourage you to submit your information as soon as possible.
Please email childcount@agendaforchildren.org if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for all that you do!