Preschool Development Grant Opportunity

Last week, the U.S. Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Services announced that applications are open for Preschool Development Grants, part of a new $250 million federal program that will support states to either build or enhance preschool programs or expand high-quality preschool programs for children from low- and moderate-income families.

The Preschool Development Grants program was funded by Congress through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014.  It is jointly administered by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS), which together solicited more than 600 public comments about the design of the program, and received additional feedback at a public testimony session.

Two types of grants are available:

·    Development Grants: These grants are for states with either small or no state preschool programs and range from $5-$20 million per year for four years.  Sixteen states are eligible for these development grants.

·    Expansion Grants: These grants are for states that serve 10 percent or more of four year olds or that have received a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grant.  They range from $10-$35 million per year for four years.  Thirty-six states are eligible for these grants.

These grants will prepare more states to participate in President Obama’s proposed Preschool for All program—a historic, federal-state partnership that would provide all 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families with voluntary, high-quality, publicly-funded preschool and incentives to extend programs to all 4-year-olds.

Applications are due on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014 and grants will be awarded in December 2014.

 

Want to find out more? Additional details about the Preschool Development Grants program are available here.