National Center for Early Childhood Quality Assurance

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Care (OCC), in partnership with the Office of Head Start (OHS) and the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), announces the availability of up to $3,200,000 to be competitively awarded for a National Center for Early Childhood Quality Assurance (the National Center). The National Center will disseminate high-quality, research-informed/evidence-based resources and provide training and technical assistance to states, territories and tribes to support the implementation of rigorous health, safety and licensing standards. The National Center's work will include, but not be limited to, providing training and technical assistance (T/TA) to promote best practices that support the infrastructure of an Early Care and Education (ECE) quality improvement framework, including Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS), that are built on the foundation of strong licensing and health and safety standards; and supporting partnerships that align quality improvement efforts across all ECE settings (child care, Head Start, and Pre-K) to move programs to a level of quality that ensures safety, healthy development and school success for all children birth to school age (through age 12). T/TA will be delivered to state child care agencies, Head Start/Early Head Start agencies, and other early care and education settings across regions, States, tribes and territories. In addition, the National Center will maximize the use of previously developed web-based material and resources that are consistent with OHS and OCC national priorities. The National Center will work collaboratively and cooperatively with the other OHS and OCC National T/TA Centers and ACF regional offices. Because of the complex work the National Center will conduct, the grantee is encouraged to bring together and manage a consortium of knowledgeable partners within the field of early childhood quality assurance. The National Center's work will be research-informed/evidence-based as well as practical in application by way of training and technical assistance within the field of early childhood quality assurance.