A Summary of PDG B-5 Grantee’s Coordinated Eligibility and Enrollment Activities and the Impact of COVID-19

Abstract:

In this report, we summarize the initial 23 Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) renewal states’ (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington) planned CEE activities as they were written into their grant applications in late 2019.

We analyze the states’ proposed activities for six defining features: 1) nature of the main activities, 2) scope of programs (or funding streams) involved, 3) characteristics of the state’s CEE approach, 4) implementation stage of the CEE activities, 5) geographic level of implementation (i.e., local/regional, state), and 6) use of a data system to support CEE. We describe the challenges a sample of states reported in implementing these CEE activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began early the next year. We discuss the strategies these states used to adapt their work to the pandemic context and meet new needs. Then, we conclude with the implications of these pandemic experiences on states’ broader efforts to implement CEE within their comprehensive birth through five systems.

The reader can use this report to learn what CEE activities each state planned to accomplish using PDG B-5 renewal funds and see commonalities across states. Our framework of defining features also helps the reader conceptualize how CEE is being implemented in localities across the country.