NCDHHS' Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) was awarded over $40 million in December 2019 to continue and expand the work begun in the state’s initial Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five.
The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. PDG B-5 renewal grants were issued to states in order to build on efforts to facilitate collaboration among early childhood care and education (ECE) programs to better serve children and families.
The PDG renewal grant requires six major categories of activities, and DCDEE has planned for various strategies to implement each one.The initial PDG B-5 grant (awarded in 2018) was designed to facilitate collaboration and coordination among existing programs within the state’s early childhood care and education system; the purpose of the PDG B-5 Renewal Grant is to build on that work, focused on strengthening the state’s integrated ECE system to prepare low-income and disadvantaged children to enter kindergarten and improve their transitions across early childhood into the early elementary school grades.
The PDG renewal grant requires six major categories of activities, and DCDEE has planned for various strategies to implement each one.
- Update the state’s Birth through Five Needs Assessment to inform ongoing planning to strengthen the early childhood system.
- Update the state’s Birth through Five Strategic Plan to ensure the state’s early childhood system best meets the needs of young children, especially those who are most vulnerable.
- Maximize parent and family choice and knowledge about the state’s mixed delivery system of existing programs and providers.
- Share best practices among ECE providers by increasing collaboration and efficiency of services, including improving transitions across ECE services and programs.
- Improve the overall quality of ECE programs and services in the state.
- Support continuous quality improvement through implementing the program performance evaluation plan and leveraging data to examine the results of grant activities.
For more information, please read North Carolina’s PDG B-5 2019 Renewal Application outlining planned projects for each of the six required activities. The initial 2018 Application is also available.
To learn more about the federal PDG requirements, please visit the Administration for Children and Families website or view the federal funding opportunity announcement.
This website is supported by Grant Number 90TP0133-01-00 from the Office of Early Childhood Development within the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Neither the Administration for Children and Families nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed are those of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Early Childhood Development.