California is eligible for a new federal grant opportunity administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Preschool Development Grant. This maximum grant a state can apply for up to $15 million and the application is due November 6, 2018. Similar to the prior Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grant, this is a Governor’s application and it requires Governor Brown’s signature in order to be submitted.
Program Purposes
The new PDG grants will 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 by:
1. more efficiently using existing Federal, State, local, and non-governmental resources to align and strengthen the delivery of existing programs;
2. coordinating the delivery models and funding streams existing in the State's mixed delivery system; and
3. developing recommendations to better use existing resources in order to improve the overall participation of children in a mixed delivery system of Federal, State, and local early childhood care and education programs, improving program quality while maintaining availability of services, expanding parental choice and knowledge about existing programs, and enhancing school readiness for children from low-income and disadvantaged families, including during such children's transition into elementary school.
A second purpose is 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.
A final purpose is to maximize parental choice among a mixed delivery system of early childhood care and education program providers.
In summary, the PDG grants will support States in their efforts to analyze the current landscape of their ECE mixed delivery system and implement changes to the system that maximize the availability of high-quality early childhood care and education options for low-income and disadvantaged families across providers and partners, improve the quality of care, streamline administrative infrastructure, and improve State-level early childhood care and education funding efficiencies.
The California Department of Education and First 5 California have worked together to prepare a draft plan for the application, and are now soliciting feedback on that draft plan to inform the final application. After reviewing the draft plan here, please submit your answers to the questions below.