Our Keiki, Our ʻOhana, Our Future:

Sustaining Momentum in Early Learning

2026 Systems Building Grant

Preschool Development Grant, Birth through Five (PDG B-5)

Hawaiʻi seeks to build on the momentum of the 2022 - 2025 PDG B-5 Renewal Grant, which strengthened family engagement through accessible resources, supported the early childhood workforce through compensation and expanded career pathways, and increased access across the mixed-delivery early care and learning system, particularly for infants and toddlers.

Project Activities

Hawaiʻi seeks to strengthen and unify its early childhood system by addressing the needs identified in the 2024 Comprehensive Needs Assessment and the updated 2025–2030 Early Childhood State Plan. The proposed project focuses on improving services for children from birth to five and their families across the mixed-delivery system, including Head Start, EOEL public preschool, child care programs, and home- and community-based providers.

Hawaiʻi plans to implement the Our Keiki, Our ʻOhana, Our Future: Sustaining Momentum in Early Learning project through seven primary activities:

2025-2030 Hawaiʻi Early Childhood State Plan Dashboard
2026 Hawaiʻi Early Learning and Development Standards (HELDS) Update
Professional Standards & Competencies
State Plan Building Block Network
Kindergarten Transition Resource & Outreach
Strengthening Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Supports (IECMH)
First 5 Hawaiʻi Common Application

Hawaiʻi PDG B-5 Team

The Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) will lead the implementation in partnership with the Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE), the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services (DHS), the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH), the University of Hawaiʻi, Head Start, and community partners.

Together, the project will advance Hawaiʻi’s long-term vision for a coordinated, equitable early childhood system that is responsive to family needs and grounded in data, quality, and collaboration.