FY 2025 Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) Systems-Building Grant

The Office of Early Childhood Development within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has released a forecast for the Fiscal Year 2025 Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) Systems-Building Grant. This initiative stems from the Every Student Succeeds Act and aims to support early childhood systems across the United States. The PDG B-5 program is specifically designed to help states and eligible territories build and strengthen comprehensive, coordinated, statewide early care and education (ECE) systems serving children from birth to age five. The purpose of the PDG B-5 Systems-Building Grant is to improve access to high-quality ECE programs through enhanced infrastructure and coordination across various service providers. The program seeks to support states and territories in undertaking and implementing a comprehensive needs assessment and strategic plan. These grants will help advance family engagement, expand parental knowledge of available services, and improve the efficiency and quality of ECE offerings within a mixed delivery system. A key component of this funding opportunity is the promotion of collaboration and sharing of best practices among providers, which is expected to enhance the integration and quality of services available to families. Funding under this opportunity is discretionary and substantial, with an estimated total of $222,000,000 available for FY 2025. The anticipated award ceiling is $12,500,000 per recipient, with a minimum floor of $500,000. Approximately 45 awards are expected to be granted. Importantly, this program has a cost-sharing requirement, meaning applicants must provide matching funds. Detailed guidelines regarding matching contributions will be provided in the final Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Eligible applicants are primarily state governments, although specific territories will also be eligible as outlined in the forthcoming NOFO. Entities such as individuals, sole proprietorships, and foreign organizations are ineligible and will be automatically disqualified. The eligibility criteria and further conditions related to qualified applicants will be clarified upon the publication of the NOFO. The estimated posting date for this funding opportunity is September 3, 2025, with a closing date for applications set for November 4, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Selected grantees will be notified of awards by December 30, 2025, and funded projects are expected to begin by December 31, 2025. As this is a recurring grant, applicants can anticipate future opportunities in subsequent years, likely following a similar timeline. For inquiries regarding this funding opportunity, the primary point of contact is Richard Gonzales, who can be reached at 202-401-5138 or via email at Richard.Gonzales@acf.hhs.gov. Additional information, including detailed eligibility, submission procedures, and evaluation criteria, will be released in the official NOFO later in the year.