Early Childhood Education Grants

Early Childhood Education Grants is sponsored by Chestnut Family Foundation. Funds full-day preschool and youth development programs in Georgia.

Preschool Development Grant - Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Services Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Disaster Recovery Information Talking to Children about Weather Events Talking to Children about Storm Evacuation DCDEE Disaster Plan (September 2018) The Division of Child Development and Early Education has moved!

October 1, 2025 is first day at 1915 Health Services Way Raleigh NC 27607 Mailing Address is still 2201 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-2200 The GPS address for new location is: 3905 Reedy Creek Rd, Raleigh NC. https://maps. app.

goo. gl/xV52DozexbvFtMrQ6 Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Strengthening North Carolina’s System of Early Childhood A Commitment to North Carolina’s Young Children and Families Children’s earliest experiences build their brain architecture.

Positive interactions between young children, their parents and families, and early childhood care and education teachers create healthy brain development through experiences that prepare them for success in school and life. North Carolina is a leader in early care and learning—and it needs continued investment to strengthen all families and the state’s economy.

The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) plays an essential role in making sure North Carolina’s child care programs are as effective and efficient as possible. Since the program’s beginning in 2018, North Carolina has relied on the $57.

7 million federal PDG B-5 dollars to strengthen the early childhood care and education system that supports children’s healthy development and learning, allows parents to work and keeps businesses running.

Review the impact of previous PDG activities : Impact of Previous PDG Activities NC’s Current Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five Initiatives To address significant staffing shortages and high turnover rates in North Carolina's early childhood education sector, DCDEE is partnering with 16 higher education institutions across the NC Community College System and University of North Carolina system to establish Child Care Academies (CCA).

These academies enhance educator competencies, provide comprehensive training, and offer ongoing support at no cost to participants. Each academy delivers a comprehensive curriculum that meets or exceeds DCDEE training standards for new child care professionals and includes information related to Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) program standards. .

Training includes CPR/First Aid, Health and Safety, Infant/Toddler Safe Sleep and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (ITS-SIDS), Playground Safety, Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment, and instruction on the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition (ITERS-3) and Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition (ECERS-3).

Participants also receive an overview of North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development and support in completing DHHS Criminal Qualifying Background Checks. The academies offer training in multiple formats across various counties to ensure statewide accessibility, incorporating both virtual and in-person learning opportunities.

This initiative aligns with North Carolina's Preschool Development Grant Birth through 5 (PDG B-5) goals of expanding access to high-quality early learning programs and supporting workforce development, contributing to long-term workforce stabilization and strengthening the economic infrastructure by enabling parents to remain in the workforce.

Child Care Academies List Building Bright Futures Apprenticeship Initiative Building Bright Futures (BBF) is an education and workforce initiative developed by the NC Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) in partnership with DCDEE, offering an organized, streamlined, and supportive framework for registered ECE apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs.

BBF supports high school students and adults interested in a career in ECE or in furthering their ECE education. Participants receive ongoing resources and financial support for educational and professional success, including wages, transportation, materials, professional development, and mentoring, up to the completion of an associate degree.

BBF has changed the landscape of ECE professionals in NC by creating a supportive framework for these educators to advance their knowledge and careers, and for employers to have access to the talent required to create a high-quality, stable learning environment.

This combination of expert instruction in a classroom with real-world application through on-the-job learning (OJL)—under the guidance of a mentor—is a model that has proven successful and results in both increased pay and the number of early childhood educators pursuing credentials or degrees.

Child Development Assessment for NC Pre-K And Beyond Since the 2018 PDG B-5 Planning Grant, DCDEE has collaborated with the NC Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI) to implement strategies that support transitions from preschool to kindergarten in response to Pre-K and kindergarten teachers' need for a data-sharing technology solution to track each child’s developmental progress.

This web-based formative assessment system evaluates children's knowledge, skills, and behaviors from birth through third grade. The state-level license enabled the sharing of child formative assessment data among NC Pre-K teachers, kindergarten teachers, and families, improving communication and understanding of developmental expectations for Pre-K and kindergarten children.

The state-level license allowed DCDEE and NCDPI to consolidate all current programs using MyTeachingStrategies®, offsetting licensing costs to the providers, offering free support and professional development, and allowing for the standardized collection, transfer and reporting of child development data across early childhood programs.

Collaborative Model for Family Child Care Homes Quality and Family Engagement In 2022, DCDEE commissioned a report to identify the needs of North Carolina’s family child care homes. In this report practice-based coaching, technical assistance, and connection to resources were identified as key needs of the Family Child Care Home (FCCH) community. Other key needs were related to business practices and shared services.

There is an urgent need to support FCCH programs as a key component of North Carolina’s early care and education system. In partnership with the Acelero Charitable Foundation, DCDEE works to increase family and community engagement, increase quality rating and improvement assessment scores, and provide a learning environment for FCCH providers to enhance their professional growth and deliver high-quality early care and education.

By providing these targeted support, resources and professional development opportunities for FCCH programs, it will enhance children’s access to high quality early learning experiences and further strengthen North Carolina’s families and contribute to a more robust and resilient early childhood system. Collaborative Model for Family Child Care Homes Quality and Family Engagement https://ncfcchcollaborative.

com/ Increase Compensation for Family Child Care Home Providers North Carolina’s DCDEE started a pilot study in August of 2023 with Preschool Development Grant funds to determine if program quality would increase if Family Child Care Home providers were paid a higher reimbursement rate that was closer to the cost of care.

Building on the work of the pilot, DCDEE continues to evaluate the impact of increased reimbursement rates on quality and provider compensation and benefits and to promote retention of Family Child Care Homes by increasing compensation comparable to the actual cost of care. In the expansion of the initial pilot, Family Child Care Home provider participants receive an increased subsidy payment distributed monthly.

This payment is distributed through DCDEE’s subsidy payment system and will be tracked throughout the study. Expand Adult Mental Health First Aid Training For Child Care Programs Young children depend on caregivers to ensure their safety and to meet their physical and emotional needs.

According to the 2022 Birth – Five Needs Assessment, young children’s social and emotional development is critical to their long-term health and well-being. Mental health significantly impacts young children’s ability to learn, establish healthy connections with others, regulate emotions, and grow into capable adults.

DCDEE is partnering with the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina (UNC) to establish and manage a professional development system for licensed childhood educators serving children ages 0-5 years old that supports ongoing learning in social-emotional development, and mental health.

The UNC School of Social Work is implementing the Adult Mental Health First Aid evidence-based program with the early childhood education workforce in licensed child care programs to increase the number of early childhood educators that are trained in Adult Mental Health First Aid.

In addition, early childhood program directors, educators, and Family Child Care Home (FCCH) providers will be certified Adult Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructors. Adult Mental Health First Aid https://ncmhfa. unc.

edu/adult-mhfa-for-child-development-and-early-educators/ Program Performance Evaluation (PPE) Plan QRIS Support and Supplement Study As North Carolina implements significant reforms to its Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) effective July 1, 2025, DCDEE is launching an initiative to help child care programs meet new requirements.

This study prioritizes Family Child Care Homes, small centers, and programs in rural counties and child care deserts—those with the greatest need for support. Participating programs attend a series of educational sessions on QRIS pathways led by expert state staff and receive a financial supplement to support their quality improvement efforts.

In partnership with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, DCDEE will evaluate outcomes to measure the initiative's impact on program quality and inform continuous improvement of North Carolina's early childhood system.

Competency-Based Evaluation In partnership with DCDEE, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) North Carolina’s Rated License Assessment Project (NCRLAP) will enhance the competency–based evaluation tools created by DCDEE and provide feedback on the process and rubric that assesses early childhood educator skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to provide a high-quality early care and education for children 0-5 years old.

The NCRLAP will create a rubric for reviewing portfolios to renew a competency evaluation, create and deliver reliability training for DCDEE evaluators, and develop consumer education materials.

PDG B-5 Program Coordinator: Nicole Boone, [email protected] PDG B-5 Grant Manager: Katherine Falen, [email protected] This website is supported by Grant Number 90TP0133-01-00 from the Office of Early Childhood Development within the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Neither the Administration for Children and Families nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).

The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed are those of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Early Childhood Development.