‘Give your keiki a great start’: Application period open for Preschool Open Doors program

PATCH — People Attentive to Children — announces the application period for the 2025-26 school year is open for Hawai‘i Department of Human Services Preschool Open Doors program.

Preschool Open Doors is a subsidy program that provides services statewide to families sending their children to a licensed preschool during the 2 school years prior to them entering kindergarten.

Its goal of is to promote school readiness, focusing on meeting the needs of the child.

Parents are not required to have an eligible activity, but they must meet income and other eligibility requirements.

New family size income eligibilty limits for the 2025-26 school year went into effect July 1:

• 2-person: $10,133 per month.
• 3-person: $12,771 per month.
• 4-person: $15,408 per month.

See the chart below for additional income limits.

Assistance is provided according to priority criteria based on a child’s age, referral documentation and the family’s income.

A child must turn 5 years old between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, 4 years old by Dec. 31 or 3 years old by July 31 of the applying program year (the school year that the child will be attending preschool).

Priority is given to children:

• Who received Preschool Open Doors services the previous year.
• Who are eligible to enter kindergarten at the start of the following school year.
• Who qualify as a special population (underserved or at-risk).

The child for whom assistance is being requested must reside with the person applying.

Here’s how to apply for the Preschool Open Doors program:

1. Visit the state Human Services Department website or PATCH website.
2. Request an application by calling PATCH at 808-791-2130 or toll-free at 1-800-746-5620.
3. Mail or drop off your completed application to: PATCH POD, 560 N. Nimitz Highway, Suite 218, Honolulu, HI 96817.
4. Fax your completed application to 808-694-3066.
5. Email your completed application to PODAdmin@patch-hi.org.

The deadline to apply is by 4:30 p.m. Jan 31, 2026, — or until funds are exhausted. Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

“Give your keiki a great start,” PATCH wrote in a Facebook post announcing the application period.

Contact PATCH at 808-791-2130 or toll-free at 1-800-746-5620 or visit the organization’s website for additional information.