Applications will be accepted starting Tuesday for early-education scholarships in Minnesota.

Qualified families can apply for up to $5,000 to send their children, ages 3 to 5, to participating Head Start, school-based prekindergarten and preschool programs, and child care programs.

The Legislature provided $40 million for low-income families over two years for the program.

The scholarships are available in these areas and more information is available online:

• Region 1- Norman, Polk and Red Lake
• Region 2 – Beltrami, Clearwater and Mahnomen
• Region 3 – Carlton, Itasca and Saint Louis
• Region 4 – Becker, Douglas and Ottertail
• Region 5 – Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison and Wadena
• Region 6E – Kandiyohi and Meeker
• Region 6W – Chippewa, Swift and Yellow Medicine
• Region 7E – Isanti, Mille Lacs and Pine
• Region 7W – Benton, Stearns and Wright
• Region 8 – Lincoln, Lyon and Nobles
• Region 9 – Blue Earth, Brown, Nicollet and Watonwan
• Region 10 – Mower, Olmstead, Rice and Winona
• Region 11 – Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Scott, Ramsey and Washington 

Art Rolnick, senior fellow and co-director of the Human Capital Research Collaborative at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, said of the program:

“The research is clear. The best economic investment the State of Minnesota can make is to provide its most vulnerable children with access to high-quality early childhood programs. The early childhood scholarships being made available to Minnesota’s children do just that. It is a major step forward to ending inter-generational poverty and ensuring the future success of Minnesota’s economy.”