Nebraska DHHS receives grant to bolster preschool development

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been awarded a $4.1 million Preschool Development Birth through Five (PDG B-5) grant. The grant will fund an integrated statewide needs assessment and the development of a strategic plan, enhance Nebraska’s parental engagement efforts and will strengthen support for education professionals and the state’s early childhood system, as a whole.

The grant will allow DHHS to collaborate with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and other public and private partners to support and expand existing initiatives and programs that benefit vulnerable and at-risk children statewide, with a focus on those in rural areas. Input from families, professionals, communities and stakeholders will be instrumental in the planning and work of this grant. 

“I am confident that this grant will lead to the improvement of Nebraska’s early childhood care and education mixed delivery system serving children from birth through age five,” said Governor Pete Ricketts. “DHHS has a long and successful history of partnering with NDE and other child focused entities for the benefit of Nebraska’s youngest children and their families.”

The needs assessment will include collecting stakeholder input, specifically input from families, through open forums, meetings and surveys to identify views on what Nebraska families need, what programs they have access to and barriers to accessing services. Analysis of that information will be the basis for the needs assessment, looking at programs like Head Start/Early Head Start, Prekindergarten and home visiting services delivered in child care centers and home based settings by public, private and faith-based partners. 

Increasing parental engagement will include expanding infant, toddler and preschool initiatives like Learning Begins at Birth, Getting Ready and Ready Rosie, which facilitate family partnerships and provide opportunities for vulnerable and at-risk populations to track and measure early childhood developmental milestones. The grant will also support bilingual delivery of those programs.

Funds from this grant will be used to accelerate established efforts to strengthen professional development within the early childhood system, with partnerships through the NDE, University of Nebraska Extension and training partners and with a focus on providing new early care and education providers specialized support through the licensing process and as they begin serving children.

“Nebraska’s goal for families is to have strong early childhood options to choose from, supported by strong community leadership and a well-aligned state system, all with a focus on healthy child development,” said Matthew Wallen, Director of the Division of Children and Family Services. “This grant will allow communities to identify their local needs and, with state support and expertise, be able to meet those needs through integrated systems of educators across multiple settings.” 

DHHS and its partners, though this grant, will also build the capacity of elementary school principals, provide for improving curriculum and instructional material, create targeted assistance for new providers and work with existing providers to make the system more efficient.

At the end of the grant period, communities will have clear recommendations on how to provide parents with the information they want and how to set up coordinated enrollment systems to make it easier for parents to access services.

Nebraska can apply for a renewal of the grant later this year.