Every Student Succeeds Act/Preschool Development Grants

The Preschool Development Grants (PDG) program seeks to assist states (including territories) in helping low-income and disadvantaged children enter Kindergarten prepared and ready to succeed in school and to help improve the transitions from the early care and education setting to elementary school. The overall responsibility of the ESSA PDG is to assist states (including territories) in the coordination of their existing early childhood service delivery models and funding streams - for the purpose of serving more children birth through age five in a mixed delivery model. The ESSA PDG has three targeted purposes. It aims to:

"(1) 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—
(A) more efficiently using existing Federal, State, local, and non-governmental resources to align and strengthen the delivery of existing programs,
(B) coordinating the delivery models and funding streams existing in the State's mixed delivery system; and
(C) developing recommendations to better use existing resources in order to improve--
(i) the overall participation of children in a mixed delivery system of Federal, State, and local early childhood education programs;
(ii) program quality while maintaining availability of services;
(iii) parental choice among existing programs; and
(iv) school readiness for children from low- income and disadvantaged families, including during such children's transition into elementary school;

(2) 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; and

(3) maximize parental choice among a mixed delivery system of early childhood education program providers." [Note to 42 USC 9831(a)]

The PDG B-5 System Building Grants allow states and territories to develop and implement a comprehensive, statewide, birth through five needs assessment. States and territories then develop and implement a related strategic plan that also addresses activities that lead to more meaningful parent engagement, the sharing of resources and best practices among the different early childhood program providers, and improvements in overall quality, specific to each state's developmental goals.

These grants allow states and territories to continue to improve coordination and collaboration of programs, services, and systems, while focusing on data integration, ongoing monitoring and evaluation, and improvement of governance structures, policy development, and stakeholder engagement.

Each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa are eligible to apply for a 1-year early childhood birth through five systems-building award, per our Notice of Funding Opportunity's (NOFO) eligibility criteria.

Beneficiaries are the children birth through 5 and their families in states and territories.

Each application is reviewed against four factors: eligibility, the application deadline, required electronic submission or waiver requested and approved, and the Award Ceiling. If the application does not meet all of these factors, then it is disqualified from the merit review process.
After the initial review, applications are reviewed and evaluated by merit review panels using only the criteria described in the Application Review section of the NOFO. Each panel is composed of experts with knowledge and experience in the area under review. Generally, review panels include three reviewers and one chairperson.
While merit review scores and their ranking are not binding, ACF does consider them when selecting projects for funding. Scores and rankings are only one element used in the award decision-making process. Other criteria are explained in the Program Description section and in the Application Review section of the NOFO. For example, ACF reserves the right to evaluate applications in the larger context of the overall portfolio by considering the geographic distribution of federal funds (e.g., ensuring coverage of states, counties, or service areas) in its pre-award decisions. ACF may elect not to fund applicants with management or financial problems that would indicate an inability to successfully complete the proposed project. In addition, ACF may elect to not allow a prime recipient to subaward if there is any indication that they are unable to properly monitor and manage subrecipients.
Applications may be funded in whole or in part. Successful applicants may be funded at an amount lower than requested.