PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANT BIRTH THROUGH FIVE
In January 2020, Governor Brian Kemp announced that Georgia had been awarded a three-year, $11.2 million Preschool Development Renewal Grant (PDG) by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education. This funding builds on an initial $2.9 million PDG Planning Grant the state received in January 2019.
“Georgia’s success in receiving this grant demonstrates the state’s continued leadership in early education,” said Governor Kemp. “High quality early education is foundational for children and families, and this grant will enable the state to develop and implement innovative strategies to better prepare Georgia’s children for success in school and in life.”
DECAL Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs added, “Receiving this grant validates and supports many of the innovations on which DECAL and our partners have been working. This additional funding will help strengthen Georgia’s system of early care and education in ways that will directly and substantively benefit families and children in our state.”
Georgia is one of 26 states to be awarded renewal funds that will allow the state to expand efforts to help families access high quality early childhood services statewide.
The original 2019 planning grant required grantees to conduct a needs assessment of the state’s early childhood system and develop a strategic plan to strengthen and align programs and services. The renewal funds will allow Georgia to continue designing and implementing activities that align with the strategic plan.
As the lead agency for the grant, DECAL will focus on the unique needs of children and their families from vulnerable and underserved populations, such as those living in poverty, experiencing homelessness, living in foster care, living in rural areas, and living with disabilities. Ultimately, however, the activities funded by the grant will benefit all children and families in Georgia.
DECAL will use renewal grant funds to:
- Strengthen families’ voices and engage families in their children’s care and education
- Help families understand child development and connect to early intervention services
- Connect families to community services through strengthening partnerships and transitions
- Facilitate career pathways for early care and education professionals and build early childhood workforce capacity
- Increase information about Quality Rated statewide especially among underserved populations
- Make integrated data accessible and use data to ensure accountability and quality
For more information about the PDG, contact Clayton Bassett, Preschool Development Grant Director, at Clayton.Bassett@decal.ga.gov.
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PDG B-5 Grants
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PDG Non-Competing Continuation Application
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PDG B-5 Needs Assessment
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PDG B-5 Strategic Plan
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Cross Agency Child Council
Georgia’s Cross-Agency Child Council (CACC) is a part of Georgia’s Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) ongoing work throughout the state. The CACC includes executive staff from Georgia’s child-serving agencies and advocacy organizations:
- Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL)
- Department of Education (DOE)
- Department of Public Health (DPH)
- Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)
- Georgia Head Start Association (GHSA)
- Department of Community Health (DCH)
- Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)
- Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG)
- University System of Georgia (USG)
- Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE)
- Voices for Georgia’s Children
- Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA)
- Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS)
- Office of the Governor
The Council is responsible for reviewing much of the work of the PDG B-5 and supporting the implementation of a statewide B-5 Strategic Plan, one of the core projects of the PDG B-5. Partnerships that are strengthened through the CACC will help to provide leadership and sustainability for many cross-agency projects. The CACC meets at least twice a year.
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Cross Agency Family Council
Georgia’s Cross-Agency Family Council (CAFC) is a part of Georgia’s Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) ongoing work throughout the state. The mission of the CAFC is to strengthen and amplify families’ voices and engage families in their children’s care and education, bringing an authentic family voice to Georgia’s early childhood care and education mixed-delivery system.
The Council is responsible for providing a high-level structure to empower and unify family voice by bringing together existing family advisory groups that serve individual agencies and organizations with services for children birth through five. The Council will also provide recommendations on policies, provide knowledge of the family experience within the system, and become a bridge to existing family councils serving individual agencies and organizations to develop strong feedback loops within the birth through five system.
The Council is made up of parents or caregivers of child(ren) birth to eight years of age who serve in active parent advisory roles within an initiative, program or council at a Georgia child-serving state agency or organization. Current Council members represent these agencies and organizations:
- Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL)
- Department of Education (DOE)
- Department of Public Health (DPH)
- Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS)
- Head Start
- Black Child Development Institute (BCDI) - Atlanta
- Parent to Parent of Georgia
- Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA)
- Children’s Museum of Atlanta (CMOA)
Partnerships strengthened through the Council will help provide leadership and sustainability for many cross-agency projects. The Council meets at least two times a year.