PDG B-5 Systems Building Grant - Nebraska’s PDG B-5 effort will use a structured, mixed-methods approach combining updated administrative, demographic, and workforce data with qualitative input from families, providers, and community leaders. Analysis will focus on ECE supply and demand, workforce capacity, regional variations, and system navigation challenges. The project will also examine data-system interoperability needs, including modernizing existing platforms, aligning data standards across agencies, and strengthening linkages between ECE system providers. The addition of Head Start into the Needs Assessment will examine program capacity, workforce stability, geographic access, and opportunities for stronger alignment within Nebraska’s broader ECE system. The findings will enhance policy coordination across Head Start, child care, and preschool programs and identify data-integration improvements needed to support coordinated enrollment, more precise resource targeting, and longitudinal tracking. The project will produce an updated, action-oriented statewide strategic plan with measurable outcomes focused on coordinated family access, workforce support, data system alignment, and program sustainability. Cross-agency workgroups focused on data, workforce, family access, and sustainability will guide development and implementation planning.
