June 11, 2020
In December 2018, California secured a $10.6 million award for the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Birth Through Five program, funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As part of the award, California contracted with WestEd to create a Strategic Plan for Early Learning and Care. In December 2019, California received a renewal grant of $40.2 million over three years to continue the work of building capacity, increasing parent voice and knowledge, developing a unified workforce professional development system, and increasing the supply and quality of Early Learning opportunities.
The California Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five: Mixed Delivery Early Learning and Care System Strategic Plan, which was prepared by WestEd as part of California’s Preschool Development Grant activities, was approved by the federal government and released by the California Department of Education on June 3, 2020. It presents guidance to expand and improve California’s Early Learning system over a ten-year period.
Recommendations are broken into three phases:
California’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care team has indicated that they will take the recommendations of the Strategic Plan into consideration when they draft a roadmap to fund and implement improvements to California’s Early Learning System. Read Early Edge California’s summary for highlights from the Strategic Plan.