Blog Series: How States are Using PDG B-5 Grants

The BUILD Initiative, ZERO TO THREE, and Start Early, recently released a new set of briefs highlighting the strategies states are using to improve child care in their Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Renewal applications. These reports highlight how PDG B-5 is being used to build the capacity of early care and education (ECE) systems, create infrastructure, provide direct services, and pilot new work. Their analysis found that states are employing different pilot programs and temporary strategies that are moving the needle in their states, but more federal funding is needed to ensure that they can see this work come to fruition and support young children and their families.

PDG B-5 is a competitive federal grant designed to improve states’ ECE systems. In 2023, 21 states were awarded Planning Grants, and 21 states were awarded Renewal Grants. While the scope of work for planning grantees is to conduct comprehensive needs assessments and draft strategic plans, the renewal grantees focus on implementing their strategic plan. The 21 renewal grantees are using this infusion of federal funding across a wide range of content areas in their ECE systems, and in a variety of ways, such as by implementing compensation reforms, expanding professional development training, building the supply of child care, and streamlining administrative requirements, among others. 

In analyzing PDG B-5 Renewal Grant applications, BUILD found that states have been charting their own course when it comes to ECE system development by working on a variety of projects and initiatives at once. They found that states tend to focus on shorter-term projects for their renewal grants, perhaps because states do not see PDG B-5 as a reliable, continuous funding stream and lack confidence that state funding would be available to sustain the work. States may also be focusing on producing near-term results, or the broad framework of the grant may have led to more responsive strategies.

Click below to learn more about the various strategies states are pursuing in their PDG Renewal grants. FFYF will continue to add new blogs as the briefs become available. 

• Supporting Infants and Toddlers
• Improving Access to Child Care 
• Ensuring Child Care Access for All Children 
• Addressing Data Integration Needs
• Improving Governance Processes
• Supporting Multilingual Learners
• Improving Workforce Compensation
• Financing
• Supporting Career Pathways 

Coming soon…

• Supporting Mixed Delivery Systems