Preschool development birth through five system building grant - new jersey's PDG B-5 funding will build on NJ's 2024 birth-to-five needs assessment and strategic plan, its nationally recognized…

The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families awarded the Executive Office of the State of New Jersey $3.25 million on December 31, 2025, under the Preschool Development Grants Birth Through Five Systems-Building Grant (CFDA 93.434) to advance early childhood education system integration across the state.

New Jersey will deploy the funding to strengthen statewide governance and integrate Head Start and Early Head Start into policy, workforce, financing, and data systems. The recipient will align major funding streams including the Child Care Development Fund, Preschool Education Aid, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and home visiting services. Activities include expanding shared services infrastructure and business-management supports, launching a family child care apprenticeship pilot, expanding supports for informal care providers, and increasing supports for teen parents through the Parent Linking Program and Project TEACH. New Jersey will expand interagency data sharing and strengthen Connecting NJ as the statewide single-entry access system to implement a "no wrong door" approach to family access and care sustainability.

The award builds on New Jersey's 2024 birth-to-five needs assessment, strategic plan, mixed-delivery system, and cross-agency collaboration among state departments. Performance period extends through December 30, 2026, with work performed throughout New Jersey.

Preschool development birth through five system building grant - new jersey's PDG B-5 funding will build on NJ's 2024 birth-to-five needs assessment and strategic plan, its nationally recognized mixed-delivery system, and nearly a decade of sustained cross-agency collaboration among its many state departments. NJ's proposal advances all three PDG B-5 core priorities: (1) developing a shared statewide vision for ECE; (2) building a unified, coherent mixed-delivery system; and (3) maximizing family options and access to care. Key systems-building strategies include: (a) strengthening statewide governance and fully integrating head start/early head start into policy, workforce, financing, and data systems; (B) aligning major funding streams including child care development fund, preschool education aid, individuals with disabilities education act (IDEA), and our home visiting category 1 unified system; (C) expanding shared services infrastructure, deploying business-management supports, launching a family child care apprenticeship pilot, expanding supports for informal care providers, and increasing supports for teen parents through the parent linking program and project teach. New jersey will also continue to expand interagency data sharing through data systems and strengthening connecting NJ as the statewide single-entry access system for families to ensure a "no wrong door" approach to access and sustainability.