Preschool Development Grants (PDG)
Preschool Development Grants (PDG) are competitive systems building grants awarded by the Administration for Children and Families to support states in developing their early care and education systems to better serve children and families during the early childhood years (birth to age 8). In Maine, the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and Governor's Office of Policy, Innovation and the Future have partnered on developing and implementing PDG awards.
2025 Preschool Development Grant
Advancing a Unified Early Care and Education System for Maine Families
The 2025 Preschool Development Grant was awarded to the Maine Department of Education (DOE) in partnership with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Governor's Office of Policy, Innovation, and the Future (GOPIF). This comprehensive, one-year initiative is designed to advance a unified, high-quality early care and education (ECE) system that ensures seamless access for families and sustainable support for providers.
Developing a shared statewide vision for early care and education.
Building a coherent governance and service delivery system.
Maximizing family access across mixed-delivery settings.
Grant Documents
2022 Preschool Development Grant
B-5 for ME: Increasing Accessibility to High Quality Programming Led by a Skilled and Vital Workforce
The 2022 Preschool Development Grant was awarded to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education (DOE) and the Governor's Office of Policy, Innovation, and the Future (GOPIF). This grant supported an ambitious plan to build needed infrastructure and capacity to create a more coordinated, efficient, and high-quality mixed delivery system for children ages birth to five and their families, targeting key needs surfaced in the initial PDG needs assessment. This plan builds upon cross-agency work to ensure that all children enter Kindergarten prepared to succeed.
Intended Outcomes
- Outcome 1: A diverse group of interested parties is engaged and advising the development of policy and programming for Maine's early care and education system.
- Outcome 3: More families and young children are accessing needed services.
- Outcome 4: Parents inform policy decisions for and improvements to Maine's ECE system.
- Outcome 8: Maine has an integrated early childhood data system which connects data across agencies and informs better policy and programmatic decisions.
- Outcome 2: More infants and toddlers are screened for concerns about development and receive early intervention services.
- Outcome 5: Maine has a robust, well-trained diverse ECE workforce supported through increased compensation and targeted professional development opportunities.
- Outcome 6: More vulnerable children are enrolled in quality ECE settings.
- Outcome 7: Transitions for children between early childhood settings and early elementary grades are streamlined, strengthened, and supported.
Grant Documents
- Approved Grant Application
- Needs Assessment
- Strategic Plan
- Project Posters
- Full Evaluation
- Individual Project Evaluations
2019 Preschool Development Grant
B-5 for ME: Quality, Accessibility, and Affordability of Services for Maine's Children & Families
The Maine Department of Education, in collaboration with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, was awarded the Preschool Development Grant (PDG), Birth through Age 5 in 2019. This initial PDG B-5, which expired in 2020, was a planning grant to study and improve the early child care and education mixed delivery system. This grant supported the Children's Cabinet goal that all Maine children will enter kindergarten prepared to succeed.
The PDG B-5 had five major goals:
- Determine the current state of early care and education quality and access for Maine families by conducting a comprehensive needs assessment.
- Develop a strategic plan to address gaps in the birth–5 mixed delivery system.
- Maximize parental knowledge and choice.
- Share practices that are evidence-based.
- Improve overall quality of programming for children birth–age five.
The needs assessment, B-5 for ME: Quality, Accessibility, and Affordability of Services for Maine's Children & Families, provided the state with valuable information gathered from interested parties across the state.
This work informed the development of The State of Maine Strategic Plan for Meeting the Needs of Vulnerable Children Birth to Age 5 and Their Families, a roadmap for moving toward an aligned, efficient, and high-quality system for all children birth–age 5 and their families, especially those who are considered vulnerable.
Grant Documents
Contact
Lee Anne Larsen
Director of Early Learning
Phone: 207-446-3629
Email: Leeann.Larsen@maine.gov
Renee Reilly
Preschool Development Grant Manager
Phone: 207-816-0572
Email: Renee.A.Reilly@maine.gov