Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) SMART Grant
🏛 Administration for Children and Families
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 15, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for states and territories seeking to strengthen early care and education (ECE) technology and data systems for children birth through age five.
Applicants must be state governments or territorial governments. Eligible investments include statewide ECE technology infrastructure, data analytics capabilities, and systems that coordinate across the mixed-delivery system.
Projects must advance PDG B-5 purposes: strengthening coordination, improving program quality and access, supporting family choice, and using data to understand child needs. Each application proposes a one-year investment with measurable results by project end.
⚖️ Cost sharing / matching required — applicants must contribute their own funds.
Not the right fit? Find grants for your organization in 5 questions →
Key dates
- Jul 2, 2026 Applications open
- Nov 17, 2026 Application deadline in 124 days
- Dec 22, 2026 Award announced
- Dec 31, 2026 Project start
Program description
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), seeks applications for the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) SMART Grant: Strategic Measurement, Analytics, and Results using Technology.
This funding opportunity will support states and territories to make targeted, one-year investments in statewide early care and education (ECE) technology and analytic data infrastructure that advance PDG B-5 purposes, including strengthening coordination across the mixed-delivery system, improving program quality and access, supporting informed family choice, and using data to better understand and address the needs of children from birth through age five. Applicants will propose a focused, feasible investment that strengthens the state’s ability to generate actionable information for decision-making and produces a measurable result by the end of the project period.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
Demographic focus
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- Project Narrative
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Cost Share/Matching Funds Documentation
- State Agency Authorization or Resolutions
- Letters of Support from Partners
- Data and Technology Assessment
Program contact
- 👤 Richard Gonzales
- 📧 Richard.Gonzales@acf.hhs.gov
- 📞 202-401-5138
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.434 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$48,000,000
-
$48,000,000
-
$48,000,000
-
$42,000,000
-
$42,000,000
-
$40,521,341
-
$40,521,341
-
$40,506,874
-
$40,461,768
-
$38,897,292
Top States by Funding
- NY 3 awards $67.3M
- NC 3 awards $63.4M
- MI 3 awards $63.0M
- OH 2 awards $62.8M
- IN 2 awards $56.7M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.434). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $310,556,269 | |
| 2025 | $306,987,805 | |
| 2026 est. | $310,000,000 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
State governments and territorial governments are eligible. Federal agencies, individuals, and private organizations typically cannot apply.
What activities does this funding support?
Investments in ECE technology infrastructure, data analytics systems, and coordination mechanisms. Projects should strengthen statewide early care and education data capacity.
Is this a one-time or multi-year grant?
This is a one-year grant focused on targeted, feasible investments. Extension to multi-year funding depends on performance and available future funding.
What are typical award amounts?
Awards range from $500,000 to $15,000,000. The total funding pool is $224,000,000 across all states and territories.
Is cost sharing required?
Yes, cost sharing is required. Your application must include matching funds or in-kind contributions as specified in the grant guidelines.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Focus on technology and data infrastructure that solves a real coordination problem in your state's ECE system. Vague proposals lose competitively.
- Demonstrate measurable outcomes for the one-year period. Include clear metrics and a realistic timeline for achieving results by project end.
- Build strong partnerships across ECE providers, state agencies, and families. Show how your system will actually be used for decision-making.
- Address cost sharing upfront. Document matching funds or in-kind contributions and explain how partners will sustain the system after the grant ends.
- Use data to justify your investment. Include baseline assessment of current ECE coordination gaps and how your technology addresses them specifically.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposing overly ambitious technology projects that cannot deliver measurable results in one year. Focus on feasible, scoped investments instead.
Neglecting cost sharing requirements or underestimating partnership contributions needed to implement the system successfully.
Failing to demonstrate clear connections between the ECE technology investment and PDG B-5 goals of coordination, quality improvement, access, and informed family choice.
Similar grants
- OPEN FY27 480-10-3703 Early Childhood Block Grant – Early Childhood – Preschool for All Expansion STATE — Illinois Department of Early Childhood
- CLOSED Technology Enhanced Adoptive Family Recruiting and Matching — Administration for Children and Families - ACYF/CB
- OPEN FY27 480-10-3701 Early Childhood Block Grant: Preschool for All 3-5 — Illinois Department of Early Childhood
- OPEN FY27 480-10-3704 Early Childhood Block Grant: Early Childhood-PFA/PFAE Training and Technical Assistance — Illinois Department of Early Childhood
- OPEN FY27 480-10-3702 Early Childhood Block Grant – Early Childhood – Prevention Initiative Training and Technical Assistance: Birth to 3 Years — Illinois Department of Early Childhood