The Project HELP PFA program is for children ages 3 through 5 who are not age eligible for kindergarten (i.e., age 5 on or before September 1 of the school year in which the early childhood program is to be implemented) and who are determined eligible by multiple weighted at-risk factors. Programs are required to serve all children identified as being at risk of academic failure before enrolling other children. A waiting list system is utilized when maximum program enrollment is reached. Classrooms will utilize multi-age grouping, with the exception of classrooms funded by the Preschool Expansion grant.
The staff-child ratio for each classroom must not exceed one adult to 10 children with a maximum of 20 children being served per session. The minimum number of children to be served is 15 when utilizing the inclusive model. Blending is encouraged within the Project HELP classrooms when the IEP team determines placement within the classroom is appropriate and the teacher is appropriately licensed. Children with IEPs are counted in the total enrollment and no more than 30 percent of the children in a PFA classroom may have an IEP (not including speech-only IEPs).