Preschool Development Birth to Five Grant feedback
Nebraska is considering applying for a new federal grant made available through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The application is due November 6, and would require the signature of Governor Ricketts to be submitted. States can apply for a one-year grant of $500,000 to $15 million. The state is considering applying, and is seeking feedback from stakeholders about what it might include in an application.
The Department of Health and Human Services describes the purposes of the grant opportunity as follows:
The new Preschool Development Birth to Five 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:
- more efficiently using existing Federal, State, local, and non-governmental resources to align and strengthen the delivery of existing programs;
- coordinating the delivery models and funding streams existing in the State’s mixed delivery system; and
- 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 B-5 grants will support States in their efforts to analyze the current landscape of their early care and education 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.
Based on the federal Funding Opportunity Announcement, Nebraska has prepared an outline of a potential application. The outline can be read by clicking on either of the following links:
Nebraska PDG Outline (PDF) Nebraska PDG Outline (online)
We are seeking your feedback on that outline. After reading the outline, please answer any of the following questions that you choose (you do not need to answer all of them):