Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Every Student Succeeds Act/Preschool Development Grants (93.434)

Also known as Preschool Development Grants Birth Through 5

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$1.5 billion
• Grant awards82
• Typical award$18.1 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$307 million
• Size rank209 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $267 million in fiscal 2021 to $307 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 209th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 55% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 51 states and territories.

What the program funds

The Preschool Development Grants (PDG) program seeks to assist states (including territories) in helping low-income and disadvantaged children enter Kindergarten prepared and ready to succeed in school and to help improve the transitions from the early care and education setting to elementary school. The overall responsibility of the ESSA PDG is to assist states (including territories) in the coordination of their existing early childhood service delivery models and funding streams - for the purpose of serving more children birth through age five in a mixed delivery model. The ESSA PDG has three targeted purposes. It aims to: "(1) assist States to develop, update, or implement a strategic plan that facilitates collaboration and coordination among existing programs of early childhood care and education in a mixed delivery system across the State designed to prepare low-income and disadvantaged children to enter kindergarten and to improve transitions from such system into the local educational agency or elementary school that enrolls such children, by— (A) more efficiently using existing Federal, State, local, and non-governmental resources to align and strengthen the delivery of existing programs, (B) coordinating the delivery models and funding streams existing in the State's mixed delivery system; and (C) developing recommendations to better use existing resources in order to improve-- (i) the overall participation of children in a mixed delivery system of Federal, State, and local early childhood education programs; (ii) program quality while maintaining availability of services; (iii) parental choice among existing programs; and (iv) school readiness for children from low- income and disadvantaged families, including during such children's transition into elementary school; (2) encourage partnerships among Head Start providers, State and local governments, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, private entities (including faith- and community- based entities), and local educational agencies, to improve coordination, program quality, and delivery of services; and (3) maximize parental choice among a mixed delivery system of early childhood education program providers." [Note to 42 USC 9831(a)] The PDG B-5 System Building Grants allow states and territories to develop and implement a comprehensive, statewide, birth through five needs assessment. States and territories then develop and implement a related strategic plan that also addresses activities that lead to more meaningful parent engagement, the sharing of resources and best practices among the different early childhood program providers, and improvements in overall quality, specific to each state's developmental goals. These grants allow states and territories to continue to improve coordination and collaboration of programs, services, and systems, while focusing on data integration, ongoing monitoring and evaluation, and improvement of governance structures, policy development, and stakeholder engagement.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

• Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) SMART Grant
  Open · Closes November 20, 2026 (13 days left) · up to $15.0 million

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa are eligible to apply for a 1-year early childhood birth through five systems-building award, per our Notice of Funding Opportunity's (NOFO) eligibility criteria.

What the money can and cannot pay for

The PDG B-5 System-Building Grant: A State, acting through the State agency appointed by the Governor, which receives a PDG B-5 Grant shall use the funds for all of the following activities: (1) Conducting a periodic statewide needs assessment of— (A) the availability and quality of existing programs in the State, including such programs serving the most vulnerable or underserved populations and children in rural areas; (B) to the extent practicable, the unduplicated number of children being served and (C) awaiting service in such programs. (2) Developing a strategic plan that recommends collaboration, coordination, and quality improvement activities among existing programs in the State and local educational agencies, including activities to improve children's transition from early childhood education programs into elementary schools.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. "Matching requirement.--Each State that receives a grant under this section shall provide funds from non-Federal sources (which may be provided in cash or in kind) to carry out the activities supported by the grant, in an amount equal to not less than 30 percent of the federal amount of the grant." [Note to 42 USC 9831] In addition, we waive cost sharing up to $199,999 for awards to the governments of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands (except for consolidated awards under 45 CFR Part 97). These territories must meet any amount of cost sharing over $199,999. See 48 U.S.C. 1469a(d) Congressional declaration of policy respecting “Insular Areas.”MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

The range of funding is between $1,000,000 and $12.5 million per Award, based on application request and supporting evidence. The average award has been approximately $7 million.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

State and local governments received 95% of the money, colleges and universities 5.0% and nonprofits 0.1%.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.