Preschool Development Grant Support

SUPPORTING PRESCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES

The Preschool Development Grant program has evolved since its inception, when 18 states were awarded funding in 2015 and 2016 to kickstart statewide preschool programs. A new round of competition available to all states this year, Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five, serves as a planning opportunity for states to coordinate existing early learning systems. States receive federal funds to conduct statewide needs assessments and build a comprehensive birth to five mixed delivery system including education, health, disabilities, and family service providers.

We can help you look more closely at the design and implementation of your state’s early care and education system. Current federal funding is aimed at:

• conducting a thorough needs assessment of all your birth to five services,
• engaging in strategic planning to identify opportunities for strong state and local collaborations,
• enhanced parent engagement,
• streamlined information sharing, and
• statewide, systemic quality improvement.

WE CAN MAKE YOUR STATE STRONGER

Foundations for Families has experience conducting needs assessment and analysis, strategic planning, facilitating stakeholder engagement, and coordinating collaborative programs and services across the early childhood care and education field.

We can help you tell the whole story of birth to five services within your state. We are experts in identifying birth to five data sources that represent the education, health, and family needs within states and local communities. From planning to conducting your needs assessment, we can help you coordinate this information so you can easily describe the services available to young children and their families.

Once you have an accurate picture of your existing birth to five system, FFF can support your strategic plan development by identifying evidence-based solutions that streamline services, fill gaps, and meet the needs of your state’s young children and their families.

As early childhood experts, we also understand how to engage the diverse stakeholders that are participating in and/or impacted by your birth to five system. We can help you identify the best ways to reach these audiences as you conduct your needs assessment and develop your strategic plan.

FFF staff will partner with state staff to build an ambitious, yet achievable strategic plan. We will work with you to develop activities that are sustainable without additional funding, while also identifying strategies that appeal to both governmental and non-governmental funders. Our collaborative approach will match your needs with our depth of expertise across all service areas.

If you didn’t compete for funding, we can still help you build strong systems through pre-planning activities, such as identifying existing service providers and data sources, offering guidance in gaining stakeholder feedback, and improving statewide quality through existing structures. Assessment is an ongoing activity that can inform your actions at any point in the process. We can provide you with the tools to coordinate a mixed delivery system that enhances children’s school readiness.