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Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Funds to Strengthen Early Childhood Programs

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), announced more than $200 million in new awards to strengthen early childhood programs. These investments build on the billions of dollars the Biden-Harris Administration secured over the last three years to help families pay for child care and keep child care businesses open in the aftermath of the pandemic.

“Early childhood education is a vital resource. By providing parents with an opportunity to work, we are helping to support families and strengthen our economy," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "The Biden-Harris Administration continues to do everything we can to ensure our nation’s children, their families, and early educators are in the best possible position to thrive.”

An April 2023 Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-quality Care and Supporting Caregivers reinforced the Biden-Harris commitment to improve care and working conditions for early educators. In continued support of these efforts, ACF awarded Head Start and Preschool Development Grants in 33 states, eight tribal communities, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia – a strategic distribution across the country to ensure broad impact and serve those with the greatest need.

“Affordable and quality early care and education is essential to child development and a parent’s peace of mind,” said ACF Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Hild. “The Biden-Harris Administration continues to lead improvements to reduce costs for families in the child care subsidy program, boost pay for Head Start workers, enhance the quality of early childhood programs through preschool development grants and, most recently, expand Head Start to an additional 5,000 children through investments in early childhood systems.”

This latest investment comes after the Administration published regulations earlier this year that will reduce co-payments for families participating in the child care subsidy system, improve financial stability for child care providers, boost pay for most Head Start staff and improve mental health services for children and adults in Head Start programs. The Administration also previously secured $2.5 billion in increases for the Head Start program and nearly $3.5 billion in child care investments, on top of $40 billion to help early childhood programs stay open during and after the COVID-19 public health emergency.

“In partnership with states and communities across the country, we are making important progress in early care and education toward a system that supports early childhood development, family economic security and a workforce that is valued and paid to reflect the importance of their work," said ACF Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development Katie Hamm. “These most recent grants will continue to build toward an early childhood system that young children deserve."

ACF awarded approximately $115 million in Head Start funds to 55 agencies that will expand Head Start services to about 5,000 additional children. About two-thirds of these funds will expand the availability of Early Head Start services to infants, toddlers and expectant families. About one-third will serve 3- to 5-year-olds in Head Start preschool programs. The funds include awards to Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships, programs serving migrant and seasonal farmworker families and American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

The Preschool Development Grants Birth to Five (PDG B-5) awarded approximately $86 million to 11 states. This is the first round of new PDG B-5 grants since 2022, when ACF awarded over $300 million to 42 states and territories. This new funding allows states to invest in and test strategies that will improve access to early learning experiences for young children, strengthen the early childhood workforce, and continue to improve the quality of early childhood programs in states and communities.

Recipients will use funds for services that benefit young children and their families, including supports for the early childhood workforce, efforts to promote the mental health and well-being of children and their caregivers and improved coordination that makes programs easier for families to access.

ACF co-administers the PDG B-5 initiative with the U.S. Department of Education. Learn more by visiting: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ecd/early-learning/preschool-development-grants

Across the country, more than 1,500 Head Start grant recipients prepare America’s young children furthest from opportunity to succeed in school and in life beyond school. To achieve this, Head Start programs deliver services to children and families in core areas of early learning, health and family well-being while engaging parents as partners at every step. Learn more about Head Start programs at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs.

The new PDG B-5 grants were awarded to the following states:

Grant RecipientStateAmount
New York Office of Children & Family Services,NY$11,000,000
Kansas Dept of EducationKS$7,000,000
South Carolina Department of Social ServicesSC$8,000,000
North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services,NC$9,000,000
District of Columbia GovernmentDC$4,998,860
Rhode Island Department of Human ServicesRI$4,945,055
Virginia Department of EducationVA$8,000,000
Washington Department of Children, Youth, and FamiliesWA$7,996,674
Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and PotentialMI$8,999,241
Minnesota Department of EducationMN$8,000,000
Tennessee Department of EducationTN$9,000,000
TOTAL $86,939,830

The new Head Start grants were awarded to the following entities:

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Awards

Grant RecipientStateAnnual Funding
Riverside County Office of Education 
 
CA$2,218,238
The East Coast Migrant Head Start Project 
 
FL, IN, OK, NC, AL$4,754,402
Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties 
 
KY$835,941 
 
Centro de la Familia de Utah 
 
NV, MT, UT, CO$2,842,921

American Indian Alaskan Native Awards

Grant RecipientService AreaStateAnnual Funding
Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of AlaskaSoutheast AlaskaAK$820,263
ChugachmiutThe Chugach region including the Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound, and Copper River Delta along the Gulf of Alaska. The Chugachmiut Service Area including the Seward, Valdez, Port Graham, Nanwalek, Cordova, Tatitlek, and Chenega communitiesAK$2,613,717
Clare Swan Early Learning CenterAnchorageAK$975,833
Big Sandy Rancheria Band of Western Mono Indians of CaliforniaFresno CountyCA$669,646
Tolowa Dee-ni' NationDel Norte County, California 
Curry County, Oregon
CA, OR$831,734
Choctaw Nation of OklahomaPittsburg, Spiro, Valliant, and BattiestOK$1,500,000
Rural America InitiativesLakota community around Rapid CitySD$1,566,351
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis ReservationThe Chehalis reservation and northwest Lewis County, southeast Grays Harbor County, and southwest Thurston County in Washington StateWA$574,173

Head Start Awards

Grant RecipientService AreaStateAnnual Funding
Innovative Network of KnowledgeWalker CountyAL$2,188,171
Dignity Community CareDowntown, central, and south Los AngelesCA$913,597
The Regents of the University of California, Los AngelesEast San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles CountyCA$ 6,264,613
Mexican American Opportunity FoundationSan Bernardino and Ontario in San Bernardino County, and Coachella in Riverside CountyCA$ 3,637,402
Bright Beginnings, Inc.Washington, DCDC$1,650,146
Economic Opportunities Council of Indian River County, Inc.Indian River CountyFL$768,750
Miami-Dade County Community Action and Human ServicesMiami-Dade CountyFL$4,538,401
Start EarlyWaukegan, North Chicago, Park City, Beach Park, and Zion; Lake CountyIL$6,337,778
University of Kansas Medical Center Research InstituteWyandotte CountyKS$1,661,746
Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Inc.Lexington-Fayette CountyKY$1,864,095
Save the Children Head Start Programs, IncEvangeline ParishLA$1,035,665
Innovative Network of KnowledgeMonroe in Ouachita Parish, Grambling in Lincoln Parish, Rayville in Richland Parish, Winnsboro in Franklin ParishLA$4,801,309
Vernon Parish School BoardVernon ParishLA$1,880,713
Citizens for Citizens, IncCity of Fall RiverMA$1,110,796
LEO Inc.Towns of Lynn, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Nahant, Saugus, and SwampscottMA$1,171,180
Development Centers DBA -MiEarlyYears48219, 48223, 48227, 48228, 48235; Detroit, Wayne CountyMI$2,656,792
Delta Health Alliance, Inc.Warren CountyMS$488,891
Educare of Lincoln, Inc.Lincoln-Lancaster CountyNE$1,966,637
Quality Care Resource and Referral Services, Inc.Salem & Cumberland CountiesNJ$2,714,998
Community Services AgencyReno-Sparks and FernleyNV$1,172,809
Kiryas Joel Municipal Local Development CorporationVillage of Kiryas Joel, Town of Palm Tree, Orange CountyNY$1,373,024
United Academy, Inc.Brooklyn, “South Williamsburg,” Community District 1; zip codes 11206, 11205, 11211, 11249NY$4,008,240
Miami Valley Child Development Centers, Inc.45401, 45403; Dayton, Montgomery CountyOH$1,388,227
Great Lakes Community Action PartnershipLucas, Ottawa, Wood, Seneca, and Sandusky CountiesOH$3,388,173
Tulsa Educare, Inc.Tulsa CountyOK$2,465,312
Community Action Project of Tulsa County Inc.Tulsa, OklahomaOK$1,810,675
Sunbeam Family Services, Inc.Oklahoma City, Oklahoma CountyOK$3,186,043
Oregon Child Development Coalition, Inc.Malheur and Klamath Counties, OregonOR$1,373,813
Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13Lebanon CountyPA$1,457,418
Luzerne County Head Start, Inc.Luzerne CountyPA$807,385
Municipio de ManatiMunicipality of ManatiPR$913,900
Darlington County Community Action AgencyDarlington CountySC$1,230,000
South Carolina Association of Community Action PartnershipsCities of Anderson, Georgetown, Orangeburg, and Newberry; and Berkeley, Horry, and Richland countiesSC$2,078,454
Lancaster County First StepsLancaster CountySC$3,366,057
Porter-LeathShelby CountyTN$2,499,258
Save the Children Head Start Programs, Inc.City of Dyer and Lauderdale CountyTN$2,213,704
Motivation Education and Training, Inc.Conroe in Montgomery County, Beaumont in Jefferson County, and Onalaska in Polk CountyTX$2,728,900
Salt Lake Community Action Program dba Utah Community ActionSalt Lake CityUT$1,149,350
People Incorporated of VirginiaBuchanan and Clarke countiesVA$1,132,950
Presbyterian Homes and Family Services, Inc. DBA HumanKindCity of LynchburgVA$2,047,268
Puget Sound Educational Service DistrictKing and Pierce Counties, WashingtonWA$1,400,001
Acelero, Inc.53220, 53404; Milwaukee & RacineWI$2,378,513
Evanston Child Development CenterCities of Evanston and Mountain View in Uinta County and Sweetwater CountyWY$1,526,912