The PDG B-5 offers an opportunity for states to improve families’ access to high-quality, affordable early childhood care and education that will support their infants’ and toddlers’ healthy brain development.
We know from science that how we think, learn, communicate, concentrate, problem-solve, and relate to others when we get to school and later in our lives depends in large part on the experiences we have and the skills we develop during the earliest days, months, and years. For this reason, ZERO TO THREE strongly urges states to emphasize the importance of supporting early learning beginning from birth as they plan and implement PDG B-5 strategic plans.
This document explains how the PDG B-5 can be used to address early childhood care and education system challenges impacting infants and toddlers and offers recommendations for specific strategies that states can include in PDG B-5 applications to improve outcomes for babies. Strategies are organized into the following sections:
- Needs assessment and strategic planning (PDG B-5 activities 1 and 2)
- Maximizing parental choice and involvement in the ECCE mixed delivery system (PDG B-5 activity 3)
- Strengthening collaboration and coordination of existing B-5 ECCE programs (PDG B-5 activities 4 and 5)
- Expanding access to and improving quality of B-5 ECCE programs (PDG B-5 activity 5)
- Strengthening the B-5 ECCE workforce (PDG B-5 activity 5)
