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Policy Priority
Child Care and Early Learning Programs

Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five

Overview

Due to limited budgets and capacity, many states struggle to support important activities like data collection, research, infrastructure development, and other quality initiatives that ensure child care and early learning programs operate effectively. 

The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program helps address these challenges by offering a unique source of funding that enables states to strengthen, align, and expand their early learning systems.

This critical funding helps families with young children access a wider range of affordable, high-quality child care options that can help set them on a strong path for success.

These competitive federal grants: 

  • Help states improve quality and safety across child care programs.
  • Improve state collaboration across multiple child care and early learning programs, systems, and agencies to identify what’s working, what’s not, and what to do about it.
  • Assist states in collecting data, so they can make programs work more effectively and efficiently.

Current Funding Level: PDG B-5 is funded at $315 million for FY2025.

Top
Resources

Resource

PDG B-5: The Program Overview

June 23, 2025

The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program is a $315 million competitive federal grant designed to improve states’ early childhood systems by building upon existing federal, state …

Resource

UPDATE: 23 States Receive Grants To Strengthen Child Care

January 12, 2026

Good news for child care this week. Twenty-three states have been awarded new federal grants to strengthen their child care and early learning programs. The Preschool Development Grant Birth through …

Resource

Through the Years: Preschool Development Grants Birth Through Five

January 10, 2026

The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program is a $315 million competitive federal grant designed to improve collaboration and quality in states’ early childhood systems by building …

Latest
Updates

News

STATEMENT: FY2026 Funding Bill Boosts Federal Investment in Child Care and Early Learning

January 20, 2026

This morning, the House of Representatives released a Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations package that includes funding increases for federal early learning and care programs. The FY2026 …

News

Hot Topic: PDG B-5 Grants, December 2025

November 25, 2025

UPDATE 11/25/25 The deadline for applications for Systems-Building Grants is swiftly approaching. A few notes: Last week, Start Early, BUILD, EducationCounsel, and the Alliance for Early Success hosted a webinar …

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