Dear Early Care and Education Leaders Letter on Improving Access to Preschool Through a Mixed Delivery Approach

DEC members, please read this Dear Colleague Letter encouraging state early care and education leaders to collaborate and leverage federal resources expanding access to preschool through a mixed delivery approach. This letter is inclusive of both Part C (0-3) and 619 Preschool support in early care and education. 

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A Message from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED)

Dear Early Care and Education Leaders Letter on Improving Access to Preschool Through a Mixed Delivery Approach

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) have partnered to announce the release of a joint Dear Colleague Letter encouraging state early care and education leaders to collaborate and leverage federal resources expanding access to preschool through a mixed delivery approach.

The mixed delivery approach to preschool was developed to coordinate efforts between states and local communities to support preschool programs across various quality settings. This approach builds on the expertise and capacity of existing providers and leverages existing federal, state, and local funding to expand the availability of high-quality preschool. Successful implementation of a high-quality mixed-delivery preschool system requires coordination across multiple funding streams and systems. It is for this reason that HHS and ED have issued this joint guidance to CCDF administrators, school leaders, State educational agencies (SEAs), local school districts, Head Start leaders, providers of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) services, family child care providers, early childhood professional organizations, labor unions, and others. With this Dear Colleague Letter, we call on leaders across the early care and education system to coordinate their efforts and consider using federal funds to improve access to high-quality preschool experiences through a mixed delivery approach.

We look forward to continuing our work together to better meet the needs of children and their families and promote access to high-quality early childhood settings.