DENVER — The Colorado Office of Early Childhood is pleased to announce it has received a Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Renewal from the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the US Department of Education.

The grant provides $33.5 million over three years. Funds will support Colorado’s vision that all children are ready for school when entering kindergarten.

Colorado Shines Brighter, the state’s PDG B-5 initiative, builds on initial grant activities to maximize the number of high-quality early care and education options available to families, especially families identified as vulnerable and underserved such as those living in rural areas, families of infants and toddlers, and families of children with special needs. 

“Investing in early childhood education is a smart, responsible move for Colorado and young children across our state will benefit from this grant,” said Governor Jared Polis. “These important resources will help support my budget proposals to expand pre-school in Colorado and improve the quality of early childhood education. This grant will also support providers’ effective practices, better connect families to needed services, and prepare our children for the classroom and the future.”

“We are incredibly excited to announce receipt of this award,” said Mary Anne Snyder, Director of the Office of Early Childhood. “This funding allows Colorado to build on what is working well for young children, their families, and their caregivers. Colorado Shines Brighter will help to make sure each community has the high-quality services and resources families need to make sure all children are healthy, valued and thriving, and ready for school when entering kindergarten.”

Colorado Shines Brighter will provide significant support to children, parents and caregivers. This includes more support for early childhood providers to expand and enhance affordable services for infants and toddlers. The grant will also support the creation of tools and resources to help parents choose the right high-quality care and learning environment for their child and access additional supports for their child and family. Additionally, the number of professional development opportunities for the early childhood workforce will increase, including free and on-demand trainings and scholarships for learning opportunities. Finally, the award will allow for greater coordination and alignment among state and local organizations supporting children, families and early childhood professionals, and enhance information technology work to better facilitate data collection and reporting across the early childhood landscape in Colorado.

About the Preschool Development Grant

The Preschool Development Grant (PDG) program is a $275 million discretionary grant competition jointly administered by the U.S. Departments of Health & Human Services and Education. The PDG is designed to strengthen state and local efforts to build, develop and expand high-quality preschool programs so that more children from low- and moderate-income families enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school. 

About the Colorado Office of Early Childhood 

The Office of Early Childhood provides resources for children, families and early care professionals to best prepare Coloradans for future success through access to collaborative, coordinated, quality early childhood programs and supports. The Office’s mission is to provide access to necessary supports to get all Colorado children ready for Kindergarten and reading by 3rd grade; to provide community and family access to services for optimal early childhood development; to create a coordinated system of early identification and intervention; to increase access to quality early learning for all children; to collaborate with partners to create a coordinated system; and to support continuous quality improvement.

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