A Breakthrough Federal Initiative in Early Care and Education
By Katharine B. Stevens
BLOG
September 26, 2018
The 2015 reauthorization of the Elementary Education and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 (as the Every Student Succeeds Act) included the first dedicated early childhood funding stream in ESEA’s half-century history, acknowledging what both science and the public increasingly recognize: the foundation for equal education opportunity begins not at age five—or four or three—but at birth. A bipartisan measure, the Preschool Development Grants Birth Through Five (PDG B–5) will provide $1 billion over four years in competitive grants to help states improve the growth, development, and school readiness of low-income and disadvantaged children by increasing their participation in high-quality early learning programs from infancy to kindergarten entry.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the Department of Health and Human Services, jointly with the Department of Education, oversee the initiative. Applications for the first year of grants must be submitted by the state’s governor and are due on November 6, 2018.
PDG B–5 does not aim to create a new, federally funded early childhood program. Instead, its goal is to help states strengthen networks of existing early care and education (ECE) programs—both public and private—for children starting in infancy, and increase families’ choice among high-quality options. Over four years, the initiative will support participating states in developing (or updating) and implementing a strategic plan to:
Improve systemic coordination of the state’s current ECE resources—federal, state, local, and private—to increase efficiency and impact;
Better align and leverage those resources to more effectively meet the needs of children and families, especially those who are low-income, disadvantaged, and/or live in rural areas;
Improve statewide collaboration and coordination among ECE programs, and strengthen children’s transition from those programs into school;
Encourage partnerships among childcare, Head Start, and pre-K providers, state and local governments, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, private entities (including faith- and community- based entities), and local educational agencies; and
Maximize parental choice across a broad range of ECE programs.
Perhaps the most thoughtful and comprehensive approach to early childhood care and education that has emerged from Washington to date, PDG B–5 is a notable departure from previous federal initiatives in three critical ways.
First, PDG B–5 incorporates a comprehensive, science-based approach to early development, acknowledging that children’s first five years—beginning at birth—are fundamental to their success and achievement in school and beyond. It aims to improve early learning opportunities for all children from infancy onwards in a broad range of settings, instead of focusing more narrowly on particular age groups and programs, such as increasing four-year-olds’ enrollment in pre-K or expanding Head Start.
PDG B–5 aims to help states build strong “mixed delivery” systems: ECE services for children from birth to kindergarten entry, delivered through a range of public and private programs, providers, and settings, including licensed family and center-based childcare, Head Start, public schools, and faith- and community-based programs. In particular, the initiative provides a critical opportunity to strengthen states’ early care and education programs for infants and toddlers—the young children most vulnerable, yet largely overlooked in many state systems and previous federal initiatives.
Second, PDG B–5 emphasizes state—rather than federal—leadership in early childhood, promoting state-driven innovation to improve early care and education systems that advance young children’s development while engaging and stabilizing families. It allows states to select the state entity—whether a non-profit, nongovernmental entity or a state government agency—best suited to manage that state’s grant. Further, it prohibits the federal government from prescribing quality guidelines or measures, empowering states to define equality, set standards, and design assessments for the programs the state’s children are in.
Third, and perhaps most important, PDG B–5’s focus is explicitly child- and family-driven, rather than program-driven. It strongly emphasizes meeting the needs of children and families: increasing parents’ power to choose what is best for their child’s development, and expanding that choice within a broader range of high-quality programs, especially in high need and rural communities where parents often lack choice. It further encourages states to promote stronger family involvement in both their child’s early development and transition to school.
Ultimately, PDG B–5 provides a promising pathway towards breaking down the counterproductive silos long existing in early childhood based solely on programs’ location and funding stream. Whether called “child care,” “pre-K,” or “Head Start,” the bottom line is that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers learn wherever they are and from whomever they’re with—be that a church basement, the local school, or Mrs. Jones’ house. PDG B–5 takes a big step forward by underscoring that the nature of the setting is what matters, giving states an extraordinary opportunity to build access for all young children to the nurturing, stimulating environments they need to grow, develop, and thrive.
* * *
Following are brief highlights from the PDG B–5 Funding Opportunity Announcement, along with resources to help state stakeholders plan applications for grants.
Funding overview
The first year of PDG B–5 funding—roughly $250 million—will fund state efforts to carry out a comprehensive inventory of the scope, accessibility and quality of the state’s network of ECE programs; assess how well those programs meet the needs of the state’s young children and their families; and develop a strategic plan to fill gaps and address misalignments among existing programs. States receiving grants must commit to contributing a 30 percent match—in cash or in kind—for grant funds received
In years two, three, and four, states that received a first-year PDG B-5 grant—as well as states that received PDG Development and Expansion grants in 2014 and 2015—can compete for renewal grants. Renewal grants will fund states to continue and build on activities laid out in their strategic plan and to carry out new activities, including awarding subgrants to programs in a mixed delivery system across the state aimed to benefit low-income and disadvantaged children, including children living in rural areas, prior to entering kindergarten.
Renewal grants will also emphasize data collection and evaluation, requiring states to implement a data collection system allowing them to collect, house, and use data to improve outcomes of the populations served, the implementation of services, the cost of providing services, and coordination across service partners.
Who is eligible?
The 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands are all eligible to apply. ACF estimates awarding 40 grants in the first year, but has placed no limit on the total number. First-year award levels will range from $500,000 to $15 million, depending on application quality. All states, starting with the highest score and moving to the lowest score above the cutoff score of 69, will be awarded a grant until all funds are awarded.
First-year grant activities
In PDG B–5’s first year, the program will fund states 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—the number of children currently served, and the number of children awaiting services.
Develop (or update) a strategic plan for strengthening collaboration, coordination, and quality improvement activities among existing early childhood programs and local educational agencies (including improving children’s transition from early childhood care and education programs into elementary schools).
Maximize parental choice and engagement within the state’s mixed delivery system of early childhood programs and providers by: a) ensuring that parents are provided information about the variety of early care and education programs; b) ensuring that programs are designed to meet families’ needs and preferences; and c) increasing parents’ and family members’ involvement in their children’s early development and transition to school.
Share best practices among early childhood care and education program providers to increase collaboration and efficiency of services and to improve children’s transition into elementary school.
Improve the overall quality of the state’s early care and education programs as indicated by the state’s completed needs assessment and strategic plan.
How to apply
States must submit a project description along with a letter on official letterhead, signed by the governor or an authorized representative, designating the state entity that will have responsibility for execution of this grant. States may select a non-profit, nongovernmental entity—instead of a state government agency—if it is best suited to successfully oversee and manage the grant, and facilitate collaboration and coordination among the state’s full range of programs, services, and funding streams.
The project description provides most of the information that ACF will use to evaluate and rank applications. Project descriptions should identify the outcomes expected from the project and lay out strategies for achieving those outcomes, including identification of potential challenges and obstacles to accomplishing project goals, along with strategies the state will use to address these challenges. ACF will assess applications “on the basis of substance and measurable outcomes, not length.”
A critical purpose of PDG B–5 is to establish strong partnerships among a state’s diverse ECE providers to improve coordination, program quality, and delivery of services. States are thus strongly encouraged to meaningfully engage and develop their application jointly with all ECE stakeholders, including partners at the local community and state levels, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. In addition, states should seek out and incorporate substantive input from parents to ensure that applications are crafted to best meet the needs of families and their children.
Applications will be evaluated on a scoring rubric with a maximum possible total of 105 points. States must obtain a score of at least 70 to be eligible for a grant award. (States that have not previously received a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grant or a Preschool Development or Expansion Grant and submit an application scoring at least 70 will receive a bonus score of 10 points to raise their rank in PDG B–5 funding allocation.)
Useful resources
ACF and a range of early childhood advocacy organizations are providing useful resources to help states craft strong applications, as follows.
Slides from a technical assistance webinar hosted by the Departments of Health & Human Services and Education are here.
Five early childhood advocacy organizations—BUILD, Ounce of Prevention, Alliance for Early Success, CEELO, and Education Counsel—are hosting a two-day meeting on October 9–10 to help state administrators and advocates develop successful applications (registration here).
Zero to Three has created a dedicated PDG B–5 webpage with a guide and additional resources to help states incorporate explicit focus on infants and toddlers in their applications.
BUILD also has a webpage—State Preschool Development Grant: Making the Most of It!—providing planning resources for states.
CEELO has posted a couple of planning guides—here and here—for assessing state early childhood systems, planning with ECE partners, and aligning PDG B–5 with ESSA resources.
See the ACF Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Grant Competition webpage and contact ACF for additional information.
See Also
Policy Brief ~ June 4, 2018
Congressional Testimony ~ July 13, 2017
Op-Ed ~ December 21, 2014