Child Care Resource and Referral is offering early learning scholarships to assist families in accessing early childhood education.

The Rochester-based organization gives scholarships to qualified families wishing to enroll their 3- to 5-year-olds in high quality early childhood programs. The group received funds from the Minnesota Department of Education in the fall of 2013 for families in Mower, Olmsted, Rice and Winona counties.

The early childhood scholarship program builds on the success of the state’s parent aware program, and families may choose any eligible program and may include school district prekindergarten and preschool programs, Head Start, child care centers, and licensed family child care providers. Parent aware participating programs partners with families to ensure children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life.

To find out if a child is eligible, contact the regional scholarship administrator at 888-450-2773. For more information on the department of education’s early learning scholarship program, visit education.state.mn.us and select Early Learning under the Just for Parents section.