Preschool development birth-5 systems-building grant - alaska's PDG b-5 systems-building grant is focused on strengthening coordination and service delivery across alaska's early childhood system

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families awarded the State of Alaska Department of Health $4.917 million on December 31, 2025, under the Preschool Development Grants program (CFDA 93.434) to strengthen coordination and service delivery across Alaska's early childhood birth-through-five system.

The award funds systems-building activities guided by Early Childhood Alaska: Strategic Direction 2025-2030. Work includes strengthening governance through the Alaska Early Childhood Coordinating Council; supporting family leadership via the Family Engagement and Leadership Training program; advancing workforce stability through coordinated professional development and preparation pathways; expanding home visiting practice via the Home Visiting ECHO Series; enhancing navigation and referral systems through Help Me Grow Alaska and the 907 Navigation App; and deepening community-state alignment through the Alaska Early Childhood Network. These activities aim to reduce fragmentation, align funding streams, and improve transitions and referral pathways to create a unified, family-centered system that increases program availability and improves outcomes for children birth through age five.

The award runs through December 30, 2026, with place of performance in Alaska. The State of Alaska Department of Health passes funding to four sub-recipients: Southeast Childhood Collective, Resource Center For Parents and Children Inc., Kids' Corps Inc., and Rural Alaska Community Action Program Inc. operate Parents as Teachers programming; Child Care Connection Inc. (doing business as Thread) provides child care resource and referral services.

This project builds on alaska's current PDG b-5 progress and is guided by the early childhood alaska: strategic direction 2025-2030, which provides a statewide vision for stronger families, high-quality early learning, and a coordinated mixed-delivery system. The proposed project will expand and align systems by strengthening governance through the alaska early childhood coordinating council (aeccc); supporting family leadership through the family engagement and leadership training (felt) program; advancing workforce stability through coordinated professional development and preparation pathways; expanding home visiting practice through the home visiting echo series; enhancing navigation and referral systems via help me grow alaska and the 907 navigation APP; and deepening community-state alignment through the alaska early childhood network. By reducing fragmentation, aligning funding streams, and improving transitions and referral pathways, this project strengthens alaska's entire early childhood system. Through this PDG b-5 systems-building grant, alaska will advance a more unified, available, and family-centered system that increases program availability, supports workforce stability, and improves outcomes for children birth through age five.