The federal government funds early childhood programs for young children and their families across the country. Through partnerships with States, Territories, Tribes, and local community organizations, early childhood programs support parents and provide enriching experiences for young children. Click one of the boxes below to learn more about how specific programs support young children:
- The Office of Head Start (OHS) administers the Head Start preschool, Early Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, and American Indian and Alaskan Native Head Start programs. Head Start promotes school readiness for children ages birth to 5 who will most benefit from access to early education. Families that are eligible to participate, include low-income families. Head Start programs are committed to supporting children's growth in positive learning environments through a variety of services, including individualized learning experiences and connections to health services, as well as strengthening parent-child relationships, and engaging families.
- Families can learn about eligibility for their children here .
- Agencies interested in becoming Head Start agencies can check this page regarding funding opportunities.
- Program staff can learn about implementing various program areas in the Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center .
- The Office of Child Care (OCC) supports working families paid low-incomes by providing financial assistance to afford early care and afterschool programs for children birth to age 13 through the administration of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). CCDF supports parent choice and access to care, and promotes children’s healthy development and learning by supporting child care licensing, quality improvement systems to help programs meet higher standards, and training and education for child care workers.
- Families can visit ChildCare.gov for help accessing safe and quality child care services in their community that best suits their needs. ChildCare.gov provides links to State or Territory child care websites that parents can use to search for child care and consumer education information.
- The Office of Child Care (OCC) administers the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) - a block grant to state, territory and tribal governments that provides support for children and their families with paying for child care that will fit their needs and that will prepare children to succeed in school. CCDF also improves the quality of care to promote children's healthy development and learning by supporting child care licensing, quality improvement systems to help programs meet higher standards, and training and education for child care workers.
- The Preschool Development Grants Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) provides grants to states and territories to develop and strengthen early care and education systems to support high-quality services for families with children from birth to kindergarten entry. Funds support innovations to strengthen and sustain access to quality early childhood services by focusing on workforce recruitment and retention, maximizing parental choice, and other quality system improvements. Over the life of the grant, PDG B-5 funds have supported systems building in 49 states, 4 territories, and the District of Columbia.
- The Tribal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program provides resources to strengthen tribal capacity to support and promote the health and well-being of American Indian and Alaska Native families, expand the evidence base around home visiting in, and support cooperation and linkages between programs that serve Native children and their families.
