Support provided through this opportunity will allow grant recipients to develop and/or enhance strategic multi-system collaboration among child welfare agencies, ECE, and other partners to effectively prevent child abuse and neglect and provide comprehensive supports to children and families, including those who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. Grant recipients will support effective collaboration between partners at multiple levels, including coordination and collaboration between state, agency, and parent leaders; managers and direct services staff; families; and community partners. Grant funding will support the development of policy, procedures, quality practice, and other strategies to address systemic racial inequities across systems that work to support children and families at-risk of or with current engagement with the child welfare system. Grant recipients will implement strategies to ensure that partnerships are established, enhanced, and/or institutionalized.

Grant recipients will focus on meeting the following project goals:

1. Develop and/or enhance strategic coordination and communication among child welfare, ECE, families and caregivers with young children, and other relevant partners.
2. Support the development and institutionalization of policies and/or procedures within a jurisdiction to increase the identification, enrollment, and attendance of infants and young children, with or at-risk, of child welfare involvement into comprehensive, high-quality ECE services.
3. Build infrastructure capacity to ensure the provision of comprehensive and holistic services to young children and their families with or at-risk of child welfare system involvement.
4. Create, implement, and/or strengthen joint efforts to advance racial equity within the child welfare, ECE, and partner systems to ensure that historically underserved and marginalized populations of color have access to high-quality ECE services that build on their strengths and are responsive to their individualized needs.
5. Conduct a program evaluation to determine the extent to which funded efforts have contributed to improved coordination and communication; strengthened networks; and increased referrals, enrollments, and engagement in quality ECE programs, particularly for historically underserved populations.
6. Disseminate information and knowledge gained from project findings and support efforts to allow for programs and policymakers to broadly integrate project knowledge into policy and practice within the child welfare, ECE, and other relevant fields.

• City or township governments
• County governments
• For profit organizations other than small businesses
• Independent school districts
• Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
• Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
• Small businesses
• Special district governments
• State governments

Estimated Total Program Funding: