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:

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

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