TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Contact your Congressional members about the Importance of the Preschool Development Grant Through Five (PDG B-5) Before its Eliminated from the FY 24 Budget.

Congress plans to eliminate the Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) in the FY24 federal budget. These funds have been crucial in helping improve the coordination of existing childcare and early learning programs and services to meet the needs of children and families.

If this funding is eliminated, Michigan will lose critical support and resources encouraging collaboration across programs. States use PDG B-5 funding to coordinate existing programs, improve program quality, expand access, and maximize parental choice in the mixed delivery early care and education system.

Eliminating PDG B-5 Program also means:

The $80 million awarded to states in PDG B-5 initial grants this year wastes funding and time. This year, 21 states received new one-year initial planning grants to conduct a state-level needs assessment and create a strategic plan that optimizes existing early care and education resources. Without the program’s continuation, states will not have federal support to implement their strategic plans.

Michigan would lose crucial funds being used to support the ECE workforce. More than ever, providers across Michigan are struggling to recruit and retain qualified early childhood educators. Without a skilled workforce, more providers will shut down, and families will be unable to access care. While Michigan has been able to use COVID-19 relief resources to support the workforce, these relief funds expire in September 2024. With pandemic relief funding and PDG B-5 funding gone, Michigan will face significant hurdles.

States in the middle of their renewal plans will not see them to completion. This year, 21 states received three-year renewal grants to implement their strategic plan and make meaningful early childhood systems improvements. Without future federal funding, they will be forced to halt this work, leaving projects unfinished. States have heavily invested in PDG B-5 and are counting on these federal funds to complete their plans.

All members of Congress need to hear from their constituents about the critical importance of PDG B-5.

Michigan is represented on the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee by Congressman John Moolenaar (MI-02). Contact Congressman Moolenaar’s office at:

Email: https://moolenaar.house.gov/contact
Washington DC Office: 202.225.3561

About PDG B-5  

The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program is a $315 million competitive federal grant designed to improve states’ early childhood systems by building upon existing federal, state, and local early learning and care investments.

In 2018, Michigan received an initial PDG B-5 grant to conduct a needs assessment and strategic planning for coordinating programs and services across the state. This $40.2 million grant will allow Michigan to begin implementing those strategies, which will be conducted in partnership with Michigan’s 54 Great Start Collaboratives, 60 Great Start Parent Coalitions, and other state agencies to ensure statewide coverage.

The grants have three primary purposes: 

  1. Prepare low-income and disadvantaged children to enter kindergarten and improve school transitions.
  2. Encourage partnerships between the various providers of services before kindergarten and improve coordination and quality.
  3. Maximize parental choice in the mixed delivery system of early childhood care and education program providers.

PDG B-5 offers unique opportunities for Michigan to strengthen and integrate early childhood systems, ultimately reducing fragmentation, expanding foster parental choice, and maximizing the reach of state and federal investments to serve children and families better.

PDG B-5 has strong bipartisan support, with nearly every governor nationwide applying for funds, designating a state agency to administer the grant, and putting forward a state match of 30% to federal funding. Currently, 42 states are benefiting from the program.

TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Contact your Congressional members about the importance of PDG B-5.

Posted on August 8th, 2023 | View All Posts