Olympia – The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) was recently awarded a renewal grant for $34 million to implement the Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The PDG B-5 renewal grant allows DCYF to strengthen and build integrated services across early learning and child welfare, including the expansion of crucial programs for children. The renewal grant provides DCYF the opportunity to implement Early ECEAP for 144 infants and toddlers and their families in 10 Washington communities. It will also improve early learning opportunities for children and families involved in child welfare.

“This renewal grant will strengthen Washington’s early learning coordination and referral systems to support families of young children with accessing services, supports and programs when they need them,” said Kelli Bohanon, Director of Early Learning Programs at DCYF. “We are thrilled to be able to continue the work we’ve done over this past year to bring more hope, resources and opportunity to the children, families, providers and communities in our state.”

Additional opportunities available with the renewal grant include:

• Improve the inclusion of children with special needs in early learning settings
• Provide comprehensive services and business supports to child care providers
• Increase access to mental health consultation and trauma-informed training/supports to child care providers
• Strengthen partnerships with families and community partners to improve kindergarten transitions
• Facilitate integration of early learning data systems

DCYF was previously awarded $5.2 million through December 31, 2019, and the renewal grant will extend the work through December 2022.

The PDG B-5 is a competitive federal grant opportunity open to all states and territories. For more information on the PDG B-5, visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ.

###