See What Funding You May Qualify For

Childcare Funding and Support
Find Affordable Childcare You can Trust
You want your child to be safe, cared for, and learning. You also need childcare you can afford. Foundation First helps you compare options and explore funding you may qualify for, so you can make a confident choice for your child and your budget.
Compare Childcare Options With Confidence
Know What to Ask Providers
The problem
The hardest part is knowing where to start
You need childcare near home or work, with hours you can manage and people you trust. But where do you look? Who can explain your options? And how do you find help if you don’t know which programs exist?
There are programs to help families find care, explore funding, and understand what to look for in a provider. Without knowing where to turn, you can spend hours searching, miss support you may qualify for, and feel left to figure it all out yourself.
Funding is hard to find
There is money you never hear about set aside to help you.
The best places fill first
Infant waitlists can fill before your baby arrives.
How do you compare?
Without knowing what to look for it's hard to know if you chose right for your child.

You Have Questions. Foundation First Will Help You Find Answers.
Explore Help Paying for Care
Our eligibility screener helps you find funding programs your family may qualify for, so you know which options to explore without sorting through every program’s rules.
Compare Childcare Options
We’ll help you understand centers, family day homes, and school-based care, including what to ask about safety, learning, cost, and hours, so you can choose with confidence.
Know Who to Contact
We’ll connect you with the program or local office for your next step, so you know where to take your questions and how to get started.
Childcare funding guide
Everything you wish someone had told you before the childcare search
The costs nobody warns you about, the waitlists that fill before your baby arrives, the funding you might not know you qualify for, and the exact questions to ask on a tour. One clear guide, so you start the search already knowing what to look for.

Getting started
Three steps, and you can start right now
1
Check what you qualify for
Take the two-minute eligibility check. A few details about your family, and you'll see which public funding options may fit.
2
Know your options
We show you what you may qualify for and help you understand how to compare childcare programs near you.
3
Enroll with confidence
We'll help you gather the right contacts and your next steps so you can secure childcare that fits your family.
Tour checklist
Choosing the Right Child Care: Questions to Ask Providers
A tour is your chance to meet the people caring for your child and see how the program runs. Use these questions to ask about safety, staff training, and daily routines, so you can decide whether it’s a good fit for your child and your family.
Ask Providers These Key Questions:
- Is this facility licensed? If not, why?
- What training and qualifications do staff have?
- What health and safety practices are followed?
- Do all staff have background checks?
- Is CPR/first-aid trained staff always on-site?
- What is the child-to-staff ratio, and how is it maintained?
- How often are fire drills or evacuations practiced?
- How are medical emergencies handled?
- What does a typical day look like for my child?
Consider During & After Your Visit:
- Are children happy and engaged?
- Are staff patient, kind, and interested in my child?
- Do I trust this caregiver with my child?
- Will my child feel comfortable here?
- Does the program support learning and development?
- Are there enough safe, age-appropriate toys and materials?
- Is the space clean, safe, and organized?
- Are hazards locked away and out of reach?
- What do other parents say about the program?

Guiding you
You're in good hands with Foundation First
Whether you are pregnant with your first child or already deep in the search, you should not have to piece this together alone. We have worked as teachers, directors, and childcare professionals, and many of us are parents who have made these same decisions.
- Lead agency for Ready Region North Central
- We work with families across eleven localities in North Central Virginia
- We administer Mixed Delivery funding for the region
- We connect families with Head Start, Virginia Preschool Initiative, Mixed Delivery, and childcare subsidy
- A 501(c)(3) supporting families and providers of children birth to five since 2011
FAQs
Answers to what parents ask us most
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Start With
The Childcare Eligibility Checker.
Virginia has funding programs for families at many income levels. Our eligibility tracker walks you through a few quick questions and points you toward the programs most likely to help.

Lead Agency · Ready Region North Central
A coordinated early childhood system across eleven localities in North Central Virginia.
Ready Region North Central brings together local agencies, early childhood providers, and families to build a seamless, family-centered system. Our goal is to make it easier for every child and caregiver in our region to access the supports they need to thrive.
Learn more about Ready Region





