Preschool Development Grants Birth-5 Technical Assistance (PDG B-5 TA) Center

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The PDG B-5 TA Center delivers technical assistance to support states in building, enhancing, and expanding birth through age 5 mixed delivery systems and high-quality early childhood programs and services.

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From 2020 through 2022, SRI International and our partners led the national technical assistance center for Preschool Development Grants Birth Through Five (PDG B-5 TA Center). We delivered evidence-based technical assistance and developed a range of resources to help states, territories and tribes build, enhance, and expand their comprehensive early childhood care and education (ECCE) mixed delivery systems and provide high-quality programs and services for children and their families. 

Purpose 

The federally funded PDG B-5 grant program supported states and territories in building an efficient and effective ECCE system so that families can choose and access high-quality ECCE programs and services. Grantee states and territories conducted needs assessments and developed and implemented strategic plans to create a mixed delivery state system and efficiently align, coordinate and use resources, building on what works and addressing challenges. The PDG B-5 TA Center supported states and territories with expert consultation, capacity-building and resources. 

A passionate team  

The PDG B-5 TA Center brought together a team of passionate experts to deliver evidenced-based and outcomes-focused technical assistance to states and territories. Our team included experts from SRI, ICF, AnLar, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), and Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD). We delivered technical assistance under the direction of the Office of Child Care (OCC) in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Early Learning (ED/OEL) in the U.S. Department of Education. 

Key accomplishments and resources 

We recognized the importance of having a variety of formats and resources to help Grantees learn, share and reach their PDG B-5 goals. We provided technical assistance to every state and territory through national convenings, peer learning opportunities, workshops, webinars, toolkits, resource documents and individual consultations. SRI and our partners successfully: 

• Provided intensive technical assistance to 29 states to help them achieve their individual PDG B-5 goals. These included generating data use cases for early childhood integrated data system (ECIDS) planning, revising and implementing quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) models, creating communication plans to reach a diverse group of interest parties, and building regional networks.   

• Facilitated 18 workgroups and 5 workshops that focused on coordinated eligibility and enrollment, equitable systems, family engagement, evaluation, integrated data systems and other key topics. 
• Produced the Early Childhood Policy Matters podcast series, with 25 episodes featuring state innovations and research and policy discussions.   
• Published nearly 50 original briefs, products and tools in response to states’ and territories’ identified needs. 
• Organized and delivered three annual convenings for states and territories to share innovative strategies, discuss challenges, and consider solutions. 
• Hosted more than 20 webinars and Town Hall meetings on topics such as supporting access in rural communities, strategic planning and apprenticeship models for professional development.  

• Facilitated more than a dozen collaborative Grantee meetings to promote discussion on important challenges such as homelessness, inclusion of children with disabilities, family engagement and data systems.  
• Compiled 14 resource collections on key topics such as serving infants and toddlers, health and wellness and equity.  

Follow us on Twitter at @SRI_education to learn more about our technical assistance efforts. 

Resources

Below are selected resources developed by SRI team members. Additional resources developed by PDG B-5 TA can be found here.  

Early Childhood Policy Matters is a 25-episode podcast series that highlights the work states and territories have engaged in to build their comprehensive early childhood care and education systems. This includes but is not limited to engaging families, connecting state agencies, strengthening programs, and supporting the workforce.   

Data systems 

• Developing Programmatic Use Cases 
• Empower Families with Data  

Supporting family engagement 

• Early Childhood Policy Matters, Connecting and Engaging Families in Kansas 
• How State Leaders Can Promote Meaningful Family Engagement at the State and Program Level 
• Strategies for Collecting and Providing Data on a Mixed Delivery System to Support Parent Choice 

Coordinated eligibility and enrollment 

• CEE 101: An Introduction to Coordinated Eligibility 

Developing a high-quality workforce  

• Early Childhood Policy Matters, Meeting the Needs of the Early Childhood Workforce: National Perspectives 
• Promoting Workforce Development to Improve Early Childhood Education 

Needs assessment and strategic planning 

• Guide for Communicating the Strategic Plan for a Comprehensive, Statewide ECCE System 
• Developing a Program Performance Evaluation Plan  

Children with disabilities 

• Programs Serving Children with Disabilities–IDEA as a Key Component of State Early Childhood Systems 

Associated publication

Associated fields of research

Associated SRI team members