“Too many poor children in rural areas, children in foster care, and children ages birth to 3 don’t have access to high-quality preschools, state leaders and early learning advocates fear. Families often don’t understand their choices. Health care and social services agencies often don’t know how to connect families with preschools. Preschool workers often don’t have enough training.

“ ‘Sometimes we’re not as knowledgeable as we’d like to be about where those gaps exist for those families,’ said Nicole Norvell, director of Indiana’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning.

“To identify and address the gaps, Indiana is applying for a nearly $10 million federal Preschool Development Grant. The plan, submitted to the federal government earlier this month, would cost about $14 million, with help from about $4 million in matching state dollars.

“Up to 40 states could receive awards. It’s uncertain when states will hear back about their applications, but it could be as early as the end of December.”

“Indiana seeks $10 million federal grant to find gaps in early childhood education,” by Stephanie Wang, Chalkbeat, November 29, 2018