Michigan Preschool Development Grant Projects
In 2019, 46 states and territories implemented the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Preschool Development Grant, Birth Through Five (PDG B–5) initiative in order to encourage partnerships to improve coordination, program quality, and delivery of services to young children.
Statewide Needs Assessment
In December 2018, Michigan secured a PDG B-5 grant and began the required completion of a statewide needs assessment of the state’s early childhood mixed delivery system to inform in-depth strategic planning to increase the availability and quality of programs and supports for children birth to age 5 (B-5) and their families. Michigan contracted with AIR and its partners to complete the statewide needs assessment. To accomplish its vision of being one of the best states in which to raise a child, Michigan supports a mixed delivery system—a complex system of programs, services, and supports promoting the health, development, and wellbeing of B-5 children and their families. The Michigan PDG needs assessment provides a review of the state’s mixed delivery system, with a special focus on services for infants and toddlers, transitions among and between the B-5 and K–12 systems, and barriers to parental choice.
Evaluation of the PDG B-5 Grant
In addition, AIR is serving as the evaluation partner for the PDG B-5 grant. AIR will evaluate individual initiatives funded by PDG as well as conduct and overall outcome evaluation. Our work spans:
- Implementation studies of the different Family Knowledge and Choice activities launched by the state of Michigan with PDG B-5 funds (Steps Pilot, Talking is Teaching, Trusted Advisor Grants, Caregiving Conversations, and the Program Toolkit).
- Implementation and outcome studies of the different Provider Best Practices launched by the state of Michigan with PDG B-5 funds (e.g., Inclusion Builders, MI-AIMH credentials).
- A study of the ways in which state agency staff collaborate within the early childhood mixed delivery system.
- An overall outcome and equity evaluation that documents the ways in which the PDG B-5 funding shifted the early childhood landscape in Michigan.
