The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the Funding Announcement Opportunity for the new Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program. Applications are due November 6, 2018.
The PDG B-5 program was authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act. HHS shared three purposes for the program:
- To assist States to develop, update, or implement a strategic plan that facilitates collaboration and coordination among existing programs of early childhood care and education in a mixed delivery system across the State, designed to prepare low-income and disadvantaged children to enter kindergarten, and to improve transitions from such system into the local educational agency or elementary school that enrolls such children.
- To encourage partnerships among Head Start providers, State and local governments, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, private entities (including faith and community-based entities), and local educational agencies to improve coordination, program quality, and delivery of services.
- To maximize parental choice among a mixed delivery system of early childhood care and education program providers
States receiving grants will need to undertake five activities.
- Conduct a statewide birth through five needs assessment of the availability and quality of existing programs, including programs serving the most vulnerable or underserved populations and children in rural areas.
- Develop or update a strategic plan that recommends collaboration, coordination, and quality improvement activities (including activities to improve children’s transition from early childhood care and education programs into elementary schools) among existing programs in the State and local educational agencies.
- Maximize parental choice and knowledge about the State’s mixed delivery system of existing programs and providers by ensuring that parents are provided information about the variety of early childhood care and education programs, and promoting and increasing involvement by parents and family members in the development of their children and the transition of those children from an early childhood care and education program into an elementary school.
- Share best practices among early childhood care and education program providers to increase collaboration and efficiency of services, including to improve transitions from such programs to elementary school.
- Improve the overall quality of early childhood care and education programs in the State.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at HHS, in consultation with the Department of Education expects to award 40 grants of at least $500,000 and no more than $10,000,000.
The ACF Office of Child Care and ED’s Office of Early Learning will conduct a pre- application webinar/teleconference on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 from 2-3:30 pm, EST. Pre-application webinar/teleconference materials and webinar/teleconference link, phone line, and access code may be accessed on the OCC website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/pdg-b-5-initiative after Wednesday, September 12, 2018.