Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education has received a $3.8 million federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five from the Administration for Children and Families to strengthen and align the state’s early childhood education system.
“Investing in our youngest Alabamians is one of the most important things we can do to strengthen our state’s future,” Ivey said. “This federal funding allows Alabama to continue building a coordinated, efficient early childhood education system that supports families, strengthens our workforce and ensures children across our state have the opportunity to succeed from the very beginning.”
The competitive grant helps states build and improve early childhood systems by coordinating and maximizing existing federal, state and local funding. It supports efforts to strengthen, align and expand high-quality early care and learning opportunities for children from birth through age five.
“This funding allows Alabama to continue building a strong, coordinated early childhood system that puts families first,” Early Childhood Education Secretary Ami Brooks said. “The initiative is designed to benefit children birth through age five, their families and the early childhood workforce across all settings, which includes First Class Pre-K, licensed childcare, First Teacher Home Visiting, Part C Early Intervention, Head Start and Early Head Start and community-based programs, with intentional emphasis on rural regions and historically underserved communities.”
Ivey highlighted gains made within the early childhood education system during her State of the State address and said the grant will further benefit the youngest Alabamians.
The most recent round of grants emphasizes system efficiency, parental choice and quality improvement across early childhood programs. The department will use the funding to increase the supply, stability and skills of early childhood professionals; strengthen consistency and alignment across mixed delivery programs; expand family engagement; and develop cross-agency analytic systems to guide policy, funding and service delivery.
