National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning

This forecast has been modified. The Estimated Post Date and Estimated Application Due Date have been updated.The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start (OHS) announces the availability of approximately $8,500,000 to be competitively awarded for the purpose of operating a National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning (NC ECDTL). The NC ECDTL will provide training and technical assistance (TTA) that reflects current evidence, is research-based, and promotes best practices in child development from birth to age five and education services across the Head Start and Early Head Start (HS/EHS) program options. The work of the NC ECDTL will strengthen professional development outcomes for staff in service of improved outcomes for children and families enrolled in HS and/or EHS programs. To accomplish this, the NC ECDTL will have expertise in areas including, but not limited to, effective teaching and home visiting practices that support early childhood development and school readiness through inclusive and developmentally appropriate play-based learning. This includes practices that promote equitable learning opportunities that are responsive to children's culture, language(s), and ability, and lead to school readiness for all children enrolled in Head Start programs. The NC ECDTL will also have expertise in implementing evidence-informed early childhood and home-based curricula, and using developmental screening instruments and on-going assessment tools to promote children's progress across the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) domains. The NC ECDTL will bring experience and expertise in designing and implementing engaging and inclusive environments, promoting responsive adult-child interactions, and using positive behavioral supports to promote children's social and emotional development.The NC ECDTL will join three other National Centers as part of a large national and regional OHS TTA System. Please use the funding opportunity numbers listed to access more information on the other three National Centers: National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operations (HHS-2025-ACF-OHS-HC-0178, National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (HHS-2025-ACF-OHS-HC-0166) and National Center on Health, Behavioral Health, and Safety (HHS-2025-ACF-OHS-HC-0165).