Taking Action to Improve Early Learning and Care Across California
In December 2018, the California Department of Education (CDE), as the state lead agency, was awarded a competitive federal Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG) for $10,620,000 from from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A total of 46 states/territories received PDG B-5 awards that will last through December 2019.
The PDG award represents a unique opportunity for California to:
- Complete a comprehensive needs assessment and analysis of the state’s current early learning and care (ELC) system, including unmet need for services;
- Build on previous and current planning efforts to develop an actionable PDG Strategic Plan for improving the ELC system; and
- Launch or enhance projects that will help lay a foundation for systems improvements, including maximizing parental choice and knowledge, sharing best practices among early learning providers, and improving the quality of ELC programs.
Your Input is Needed
The PDG Core Team and State Stewardship Team have been established to ensure stakeholder engagement from key state offices and agencies serving young children and their families, and the State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care (SAC) and the public were engaged in initial planning. Additional opportunities have been provided to stakeholders including but not limited to, parents, providers, administrators, advocates and state and leaders.