Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5 Grant) 2026
What is the PDG-B5 Grant
The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program is a $250 million competitive federal grant designed to improve states’ early childhood systems by building upon existing federal, state, and local early care and learning investments. For the 2026 grant cycle, Delaware was awarded $11.3 million, allowing the First State to build on recent successes to establish an efficient, affordable, accessible early childhood system to better meet the evolving needs of children, families, and educators.
Overview of Grant Projects
The following projects will be funded, shaped, and implemented throughout the PDG-B5 2026 grant cycle. Read the full project team summaries.
Statewide Needs Assessment & Data Dashboards
Project Goal: To build Delaware’s data foundation for early childhood system improFovement.
Key Objectives:
- Collect statewide needs assessment (qualitative and quantitative data) on access,
quality, workforce, and family experience. - Identify service gaps affecting children, families, and early childhood professionals.
- Develop real-time analytical dashboards to track outputs, outcomes, and therefore system
performance. - Integrate data across agencies and platforms to support coordinated planning and accountability.
- Support ongoing evaluation of Delaware Early Childhood Council (DECC) strategic goals
through continuous data monitoring.
Timeline: January 1, 2026 – December 30, 2026
Strategic Plan Implementation Roadmaps
Project Goal: To transform Delaware’s early childhood strategy into coordinated action.
Key Objectives:
- Develop actionable implementation roadmaps that translate strategy into specific, measurable outputs and outcomes.
- Align statewide priorities across agencies and organizations to drive coordinated system improvement, guiding immediate and long-term actions by state agencies
and partners. - Establish continuous improvement cycles through annual reviews informed by data and stakeholder feedback.
Timeline: April 1, 2026 – October 30, 2026
Unified Governance& Sustainable Financing
Project Goal: To build a unified, sustainable early care and education system for Delaware
Key Objectives:
- Explore the best plan for unified ECE governance, organizational roles, responsibilities, and oversight.
- Conduct a thorough fiscal and policy review to inform government transparency, coordination, and accountability.
- Consider a statewide financing model that blends public, private, local, and philanthropic investments for long-term sustainability and expanded access.
- Build a unified funding framework and budget tools to streamline ECE funding for children before kindergarten.
- Connect governance and financing reforms with accessible regional entry points for families, professionals, and community partners.
Timeline: February 1, 2026 – December 30, 2026
Family Early Resource & Referral Network (FERRN)
Project Goal: To creating a seamless, statewide system of access for families with young children.
Key Objectives:
- Centralize family access through a statewide blueprint that integrates online and in person referral and support touchpoints.
- Engage families and community partners in the design and rollout to ensure accessible and relevant supports.
- Consolidate services and governance by aligning existing initiatives, including Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC), under a shared structure.
- Modernize technology systems with a family-facing Help Me Grow (HMG) data dashboard and an upgraded Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) portal that connects screenings directly to resources.
Timeline: February 1, 2026 – December 30, 2026
Child Care Hub Architecture Project
Project Goal: To building regional infrastructure to strengthen child care quality, access, and workforce
stability.
Key Objectives:
- Plan to centralize operational supports within a regional Child Care Hub to reduce administrative burden and strengthen business sustainability.
- Recruit and retain the early childhood workforce through streamlined credentialing, professional development, and renewable individual licensure
pathways. - Integrate modern technology solutions, including a Child Care Business Toolkit and a workforce professional portal.
- Expand high-quality, locally driven programming through regional Family Child Care (FCC) Networks.
Timeline: February 1, 2026 – December 30, 2026
B-5 Accountability Committee
The B-5 Accountability Committee will foster strong grant governance through innovation and accountability. They are responsible for the coordination of ECCE data collection and metric tracking across the project. The committee will also ensure projects maintain focus on the outlined program goals.
Caitlin Gleason
Committee Facilitator
DOE, Associate Secretary
Madeleine Bayard
Delaware Early Childhood Council, Chair
Dawn Alexander
Office of Early Learning (DOE), Director
Betty Gail Timm
Office of Child Care Licensing (DOE), Director
Amber Shelton
Office of Early Childhood Intervention (DOE), Director
Lisa Schieffert
DHSS, Deputy Secretary
Stephanie Staats
Division of Social Services (DHSS), Director
Crystal Sherman
Division of Public Health (DHSS), Public Health Administrator
Jaqueline Bensel
Division of Social Services (DHSS), Senior Policy Administrator
Meredith Seitz
Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families, Chief of Staff
Sarah Stowens
Office of the Lt. Governor, Chief of Staff