Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has Requested for Proposals (RFPs) open for the following Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) funded programs:
- Preschool for All (PFA) for 3–5-year-olds
- Preschool for All Expansion (PFAE) for comprehensive services for 3–5-year-olds
- Prevention Initiative (PI) for 0–3-year-olds
Final applications for all three ISBE RFPs must be submitted electronically, mailed, or delivered to ISBE by June 10, 2019, at 4 p.m. Programs must also complete GATA pre-application documentation as a first step.
The RFP process is open to both early childhood programs not currently receiving ECBG funds as well as currently funded programs seeking to add additional slots. Programs that were awarded grants in FY19 are funded for five years, and only need to submit an application for FY20 if they increase the number of slots. More information, including the required pre-application process and proposal documents, can be found on ISBE’s early childhood website. Information on available technical assistance resources should be posted soon. If you have any questions, contact ISBE’s Division of Early Childhood at earlychi@isbe.net or 217.524.4835.
A few resources currently available can be found at:
- ISBE’s Live Technical Assistance Webinar is April 24 @ 10:00 am
- Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map (IECAM) – resource for demonstrating your need
- Note that in their Related Pages you can also find information about helpful collaborations for data too.
- ISBE’s list of helpful resources
- While geared towards the FY19 RFP, resources from last year’s RFP supports may also be helpful. Please note to cross-reference updated sections of the RFP for applicability.