This bill amends existing ECEAP law and adds a new section to chapter 43.216 RCW to allow limited additional enrollments as space and funding permit. It temporarily amends RCW 43.216.512 to permit up to 25% of total statewide ECEAP enrollment to be filled by children who would not otherwise be eligible under RCW 43.216.505 if they meet specified income and risk criteria. It also creates a new statutory enrollment path, effective and subject to appropriations, allowing enrollment of children from military households with family income above 50% of the state median but at or below the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) maximum household income (per RCW 43.216.802). The bill amends RCW 43.216.514 to require the department to prioritize children who are eligible under RCW 43.216.505 and to maintain eligibility through the start of kindergarten, while permitting inclusion of the additional children as space is available. Children enrolled under the amended or new provisions are explicitly not considered “eligible children” under RCW 43.216.505 and are not part of the state-funded entitlement under RCW 43.216.556. Legally, this is a modification of existing law plus the addition of a new statutory enrollment section; it is primarily an eligibility and procedural change that establishes enrollment caps, funding conditions, and a military-household definition rather than creating new crimes or penalties. The bill defines “military member” for these purposes to include active U.S. armed forces, reserve components, the National Guard, NOAA commissioned corps members, and U.S. Public Health Service commissioned corps members who are stationed in or residents of Washington. The department of children, youth, and families is directed to adopt rules and a prioritization system to implement these changes. Timing and limits in the text: the amendment to RCW 43.216.512 (Section 1) expires August 1, 2030, while the new section and the amendment to RCW 43.216.514 (Sections 2 and 3) take effect August 1, 2030. The text references RCW 43.216.505, RCW 43.216.802, and RCW 43.216.556 but does not include those provisions’ text here, so specific eligibility definitions, numeric income thresholds, the WCCC maximum household income amount, details of the prioritization rules, appropriations or funding amounts, and how the 25% statewide cap will be allocated geographically are not provided in the extracted facts.

If enacted, the bill would let ECEAP programs fill up to 25% of statewide slots with children who currently fall outside the program’s formal eligibility rules but meet certain income and risk criteria, and it would separately allow children from defined military households with incomes above 50% of the state median (but at or below the Working Connections Child Care maximum) to enroll when space and appropriated funding allow. Children admitted under these provisions would be treated as extra, temporary slots rather than expanding the program’s state-funded entitlement, and the department must keep prioritizing formally eligible children and adopt rules for how these non-entitled slots are allocated. The department (DCYF) and local ECEAP providers are most affected: DCYF will need to write prioritization rules and manage how the extra slots are used, which could add administrative work and require decisions about geographic allocation and prioritization; providers may have more flexibility to enroll near-eligible and military-connected children but will face limits (the 25% cap and funding constraints). Military families and some near-eligible low-income children are most likely to gain access, but access will depend on available space and appropriations, the 25% provision expires August 1, 2030, the military-related changes take effect August 1, 2030, and key details such as exact income thresholds, funding amounts, and local slot allocation are not specified in the extracted text.