In 2019, the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded 23 states a three-year Preschool Development Grant Birth-5 (PDG B-5). These grants aimed to support young children’s development and strengthen states’ early care and education mixed delivery systems. North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) received an award of more than $40 million in PDG B-5 funding. Since 2019, the grant has supported 21 different activities.
A key requirement of PDG B-5 is to support continuous quality improvement through the development and implementation of a program performance evaluation plan. DCDEE partnered with Child Trends to develop and implement this plan, which examines the progress of individual PDG B-5 activities and determines how the grant overall is contributing to five key goals:
Goal 1: High-quality learning
Babies, toddlers, and young children across North Carolina will be able to participate in high-quality early learning programs.
Goal 2: On track for school success
Young children across North Carolina will reach their developmental goals by the time they enter kindergarten.
Goal 3: Supportive and supported families and communities
Families with babies and toddlers across North Carolina feel supported, are engaged in early learning, and are connected to the resources they need.
Goal 4: Fostering social-emotional health and well-being
Babies, toddlers, and young children across North Carolina will express, recognize, and manage their emotions in a healthy way, especially under stress.
Goal 5: Strengthening North Carolina’s mixed delivery system
North Carolina’s comprehensive early childhood system will be more integrated, experience increased capacity to offer technical assistance to families and early childhood professionals, and offer sustained improvements for children, families, and professionals.
The program performance evaluation addressed three primary questions:
In addition to the overall evaluation of PDG B-5, Child Trends conducted three in-depth evaluations on topics of interest to DCDEE—referred to as deep dives—to better understand the extent to which PDG B-5 activities were successful in meeting project goals. The deep dives corresponded to three of the PDG B-5 goal areas: Transition to Kindergarten, Family Engagement and Leadership, and Data Systems Improvements.
Findings and Recommendations from North Carolina’s Preschool Development Grant Birth-5
Summarizes findings and recommendations from the three-year evaluation of North Carolina’s PDG B-5.
Impact of Data-Related Efforts Funded by the North Carolina Preschool Development Grant Birth to 5
Summarizes findings and recommendations from a deep dive evaluation of PDG B-5 activities focused on data-related efforts.
Transition to Kindergarten: Lessons from North Carolina’s Statewide Efforts
Summarizes findings and recommendations from a deep dive evaluation of PDG B-5 activities focused on transition to kindergarten efforts.
Recommendations From North Carolina on Family Engagement and Leadership in Early Care and Education
Summarizes findings and recommendations from a deep dive evaluation of PDG B-5 activities focused on family engagement and leadership.
Family Engagement Deep Dive Findings
This recorded presentation provides more information on findings from the family engagement and leadership deep dive.
Raising Their Voices: Early Childhood Family Engagement and Leadership in North Carolina
A short video highlighting family engagement and leadership activities in North Carolina, featuring family leaders involved in both statewide and local efforts in their communities.
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