Preschool Development Grants Competition

Development Grants & Expansion Grants

State Applicants Technical Assistance Webinar

Questions & Answers

October 3, 2014

 

U.S. Department of Education

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services
Presenters

• Libby Doggett, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Early Learning, OESE, ED

• Steven Hicks, Senior Policy Advisor, OESE, ED

• Richard Gonzales, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary, ACF, HHS

Supporting the presenters—

• Jane Hess, Office of the General Counsel, ED

• Shaw Vanze, Office of the General Counsel, ED

• Rachel Peternith, Office of the General Counsel, ED

• Rebecca Marek, Office of Early Learning, OESE, ED

• Miriam Lund, Office of Early Learning, OESE, ED

• Mary Moran, Office of Early Learning, OESE, ED

• Tenesha Hembrey, Office of Early Learning, OESE, ED

• Ruben Vazquez, Office of Early Learning, OESE, ED

• Tammy Proctor, Office of Early Learning, OESE, ED

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Housekeeping

• During the presentation all phone lines will be placed on mute to avoid 

feedback during the presentation. 

• Please use the “Chat” feature to submit questions which we will answer 

at the end of today’s presentation. 

• The slides, transcript and recording from today’s presentation will be 

posted at the Preschool Development Grants Web site. 

• Grants.gov important dates

▫ October 11th - 12th: Grants.gov down for maintenance

▫ October 13th: Grants.gov Help Desk closed

▫ October 15th: NEW Application Deadline

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Agenda

• FAQs addendums and additional questions 

received

• Opportunity for additional questions

▫ Technical

▫ Clarifying

▫ Logistical

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FAQs Addendum

• New Questions in Addendum 1

▫ B-20a

▫ C-10

▫ C-11

▫ E-16

▫ F-12

▫ E-7 (revised)

• New Questions in Addendum 2

▫ F-13

▫ C-12

▫ C-13

• All FAQs can be found at the following address

▫ http://www2.ed.gov/programs/preschooldevelopmentgrants/faq.html

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FAQs Addendum 1: B-20a

• What is the distinction among an Early Learning 

Provider, a Subgrantee, and a High-Need 

Community? 

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FAQs Addendum 1: C-10

• How many communities does an applicant need 

to include in its application?

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FAQs Addendum 1: C-11

• May Preschool Development Grant funds be 

used to support preschool services for children 

from families with incomes above 200 percent of 

the Federal Poverty Line?

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FAQs Addendum 1: E-16

• How does an applicant determine whether a 

State Preschool Program slot is “new” or 

“improved”? (See Selection Criterion (D)(4)(b))

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FAQs Addendum 1: F-12

• May all of a State’s funds appropriated for the 

fiscal year prior to the first year of the grant 

period (i.e. FY 2014 funds) be used to meet the 

requirements of Competitive Preference Priority 

1?

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FAQs Addendum 1: Revised E-7

• Are States required to submit a memorandum of 

understanding (MOU) with each Subgrantee as 

part of their applications?

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FAQs Addendum 2: F-13

• Must the increased State funds for the fiscal 

year prior to the first year of the grant period be 

used to support only High-Quality Preschool 

Programs in order to be considered as State 

match funds in Competitive Priority 1?

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FAQs Addendum 2: C-12

• Must High-Quality Preschool Programs funded 

by the Preschool Development Grant program 

be provided for the equivalent of a full school 

week and the equivalent of a full school year?

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FAQs Addendum 2: C-13

• May a fee, such as a sliding-scale fee based on 

family income, be charged for Eligible Children 

to attend a High-Quality Preschool Program 

funded by the Preschool Development Grant 

program?

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“Typos”

15

• Expansion Grants NIA: Appendix A, Part II 

▫ Points Overview (D)(3)

 The text should say “How the State conducted outreach to 

potential subgrantees.

• Reminder: Excel Spreadsheets updated on Sep. 16

▫ If you have not already done so, please download the latest 

version from the website.
Excel Spreadsheets

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• Overall Statewide Budget Table

▫ You may find the table locked

▫ Simply click “Unprotect Sheet” at the top
Some Questions Received

• When do grant funds have to be spent?

▫ Funds are expected to be obligated by the end of each 

grant year. 

▫ The Departments will work with grantees if extensions 

are necessary.

 For example:

 Budget Year 1 (2015), for example, may include a school 

year from September, 2015 through June, 2016

 Budget Year 4 (2018), may include a school year from 

September, 2018 through June, 2019

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Some Questions Received

• Is new funding for the match competitive priority 

based on the base year FY 2014?

▫ Yes. FY 2014 is the base year.

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State 

Preschool 

Budget

$70,000,000 $72,000,000 $76,000,000 $76,000,000 $80,000,000
Some Questions Received

• Do matching funds have to be used in the HighNeed Communities identified in the State’s plan? 

▫ Matching funds must be used in the High-Need 

Communities in the State identified in the State's plan or for 

State-level infrastructure.

▫ The State may want to use the 65% (Development) or 95% 

(Expansion) of grant funds in some High-Need 

Communities and their matching funds in other High-Need 

Communities.

▫ Matching funds must meet the allowable use of funds 

described in the notice and in E-1, E-12 and E-3.

▫ The State is expected to describe all High-Need 

Communities in their plan. 

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Some Questions Received

• What are the funding bands for the 4 years of 

the grant?

▫ Funding bands listed in the application are annual (for 

each year of the grant).

▫ For example, if an annual funding band is up to $10 

million, then the funding available for the four years of 

the grant is up to $40 million.

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Grants.Gov Maintenance

• When: October 11th-12th, 2014 (Columbus Day Weekend)

• Off-line: Saturday October 11th, 2014 at 12:01 AM EST

• On-line: Sunday October 12th, 2014 at 6:00 AM EST

• Total off-line time: 30 hours

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Next Steps

• October 11th - 12th: Grants.gov down for maintenance

• October 13th: Grants.gov Help Desk closed

• October 15th: NEW Application Deadline

• December 2014: Awards Announced 

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Preschool Development Grants Program Web site 

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/preschooldevelopmentgrants/index.html

E-mail

PreschoolDevelopmentGrants@ed.gov