Preschool Development Grant

Minnesota’s Preschool Development Birth through Five grant is a partnership of the Minnesota Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, along with the Children’s Cabinet to align education and care systems across the state. The grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services supports pregnant families and families with children age 5 and younger. See our vision for how we can Work Together to Improve Early Childhood Systems.

Minnesota has been awarded three grants:
  • 2019-2020: Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five Planning Grant, $4.7 million
  • 2020-2023: Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five Renewal Grant, $27 million
  • 2023-2024: Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five Planning Grant, $4 million
Grant activities are determined through an in-depth needs assessment and strategic planning process. A sample of activities include:
  • Launch of Help Me Connect, a centralized system to directly connect families and those working with families to resources. It will also serve as a direct referral to programs and services.
  • MN StoryCollective, a storytelling project that works with community partners to collect stories. The initiative then brings together folks from across Minnesota to make sense of what's being shared and to identify opportunities to take action.
  • Targeted focus on American Indian children and families, including prioritizing grant funding, hiring a Tribal Nations Lead and implementing an indigenous evaluation.
  • Supporting Community Solutions for Healthy Child Development Grants, grants that fund community solutions to improve the well-being of children of color and American Indian children from prenatal to grade three and their families.
  • Launched Community Resource Hubs, now sustained as Community Resource Centers, which are community-based coordinated points of entry that provide culturally responsive, relationship-based service navigation and other supportive services for expecting and parenting families and youth.
  • Working to coordinate eligibility and services for families through legal and technical solutions.
  • Supporting the early childhood workforce through revising the Knowledge and Competency Framework, piloted early childhood Grow Your Own and CDAs in high schools, and through compensation supports.
  • Early Childhood in Minnesota - 6/22/23
    A general outline of early care and education systems in Minnesota and action steps to improve conditions for children, families and communities across the state.

Grant Overview and Reports

The Preschool Development Grant is awarded to states through a competitive application process and requires annual reports for all grants. The state has also completed a sustainability planning guide to support ongoing efforts after the grant funds conclude.

  • Preschool Development Grant 2022 Annual Report  - 2/17/23
    Learn more about the work done through PDG in 2022.
  • Preschool Development Grant B-5 Planning Project Description  - 2/15/23
    Outlines plan for the $4 million PDG planning grant the State of Minnesota was awarded for calendar year 2023.
  • Minnesota Preschool Development Grant Sustainability Planning Guide  - 6/6/22
    This is a guide created by the Management and Analysis Division at Minnesota Management and Budget to support sustainability planning for Minnesota’s Preschool Development Grant.
  • Minnesota Preschool Development Grant Annual Report 2021  - 4/12/22
    Minnesota’s report to the Federal government on grant activities through December 30, 2021.
  • Preschool Development Grant Mid-Grant Report  - 9/21/21
    Reporting highlighting the work and successes of the Preschool Development Grant halfway through the three-year funding period.
  • Bridging State Agencies for Coordinated Care  - 1/12/21
    The Preschool Development Grant is a collaboration of state agencies and committees. This document shows how the departments of Education, Health, and Human Services, along with the Children's Cabinet, work together to meet the grant's goals.
  • Preschool Development Grant Guiding Principles  - 1/11/21
    Summary that defines the guiding principles of the Preschool Development Grant work: Racial Equity, Trauma and Healing Informed, Intersectionality, Interagency Collaboration, Geographic Responsiveness, Whole Family Systems, and Belonging and Inclusion.
  • Renewal Grant Summary  - 2/26/20
    Minnesota was awarded a renewal grant to continue the work of the Preschool Development Planning Grant. This summary includes activities within the proposal to be implemented between December 31, 2019 – December 30, 2022.
  • Minnesota Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Birth-Five (B-5) Renewal Grant  - 1/13/20
    Minnesota Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Birth-Five (B-5) Renewal Grant is Minnesota’s application for federal funding. The state was awarded this three-year $26.7 million federal grant beginning December 31, 2019. The document outlines the state’s proposed activities, timelines and budget. Note that the state was awarded less than application so activities and budgets are subject to change.
  • Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five (PDG B-5) Overview  - 6/3/19
    The Preschool Development Grant Overview summarizes activities that will be conducted through the planning grant period. This document is designed to be used as a handout with stakeholders.
  • Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five (PDG B-5) Project Description  - 1/14/19
    The Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five (PDG B-5) Project Description is Minnesota’s application for federal funding. The document outlines the state’s proposed activities, timelines and budget. Note that the state was awarded less than application so activities and budgets are subject to change.

Current Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan

The grant supports strengthening Minnesota’s early childhood system, especially for children and families furthest from opportunities. In order to best understand the needs of the state, Minnesota completed in-depth needs assessments in both 2020 and 2023. In both needs assessments processes, the state partnered with agencies, communities, and families across the state. The needs assessment process led to strategic plans that guide the state’s cross-agency work and grant funds. Strategic priorities for 2023 and beyond include:

  • Priority Area 1: Families can access the early childhood services they need to help their young children thrive. 
  • Priority Area 2: Available early childhood supports and services achieve high quality standards by meeting the needs of children and families and driving toward positive outcomes. 
  • Priority Area 3: Families and communities play an active role in informing the planning, implementation, and oversight of state and local early childhood efforts. 
  • Priority Area 4: A sustainable and comprehensive statewide infrastructure enables the state to implement a streamlined early childhood system. 
  • A Minnesota Dedicated to Young Children and Families  - 3/17/23
    A community-facing brief showing what Minnesota has accomplished in the early childhood space in the years since the initial needs assessment and strategic plan.
  • Minnesota Early Childhood Strategic Refresh  - 3/14/23
    A fresh look at what Minnesota has accomplished in the early childhood space in the years since the initial needs assessment and strategic plan, gauging how recent events have reinvigorated, reshuffled and reshaped the system's priorities.

Evaluation and Learning

Minnesota is committed to ongoing learning and improvement in the state’s early childhood system as well as specifically for the Preschool Development Grant. The state has completed two evaluations as a part of the grant. 

American Indian Collaboration

With feedback from Minnesota’s Tribal leaders and families, the Preschool Development Grant identifies access barriers to education and care programs for American Indians. The grant aims to align systems to provide equitable access to state programs. Investing in early childhood learning and development now means healthier American Indian families and communities in the future. This has been done through deep engagement, targeted funding, the hiring of a Tribal Nations lead, tailored resources and an Indigenous Evaluation with the Wilder Foundation and Bowman Performance.
 
In honoring Tribal Nation programs and American Indian serving organization’s values, culture and traditions, the Preschool Development Grant contracted with Wilder Foundation and Bowman Performance to evaluate grant activities as they relate to Minnesota’s American Indian communities and Community Solutions grantees. Indigenous evaluation recognizes Tribal Nations are sovereign nations, creates value for the community, respects traditional knowledge systems, and is created in collaboration with communities. 
  • MN Preschool Development Grant Indigenous Evaluation  - 3/21/23
    Wilder Research and Bowman Performance Consulting conducted an Indigenous evaluation for the PDG that honors the unique cultural and tribal sovereignty of Minnesota’s American Indian communities.
  • First Year Recap: PDG Indigenous Evaluation  - 3/13/23
    A recap of the first year of the PDG Indigenous Evaluation conducted by Wilder Research, focused on the experiences of and impacts on Indigenous families.
  • Indigenous Evaluation 101 Guidebook  - 11/1/22
    An Indigenous Evaluation 101 Guidebook was developed by Bowman Performance Consulting (Shawano, WI) and Wilder Research (Saint Paul, MN) as part of our contract with the Minnesota Department of Education to conduct an Indigenous Evaluation for Minnesota’s Preschool Development Grant. This guidebook provides guidance on how to conduct evaluation that honors the culture and strengths of Indigenous communities. It was developed for the State of Minnesota, their grantees, and other organizations that are working within Indigenous communities, in particular for the Preschool Development Grant and other initiatives that center children and families.
  • Preschool Development Grant Collaborating with American Indians and Tribal Nations  - 12/28/21
    Summary of the Preschool Development Grant's collaboration with American Indian communities and Tribal Nations, includes specific community initiatives that are funded through the grant.

Grant Projects

Minnesota has implemented several major initiatives funded by the Preschool Development Grant.

Past Needs Assessment and Strategic Plan Work

Prior to the 2023 Strategic Refresh, Minnesota completed an in-depth needs assessment and strategic plan in 2019. The needs assessment and strategic plan focused on expecting and parenting families with young children who are experiencing racial, geographic and economic inequities. The work was completed in partnership with 10 community organizations: the six Minnesota Initiative Foundations in Greater Minnesota; Children's Defense Fund MN; the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center; Minnesota Tribal Resources for Early Childhood Care; and Indigenous Visioning.