The North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education is funding a statewide Birth-5 Needs Assessment (B-5 NA) as part of an initial federal requirement of the Preschool Development Grant (PDG). The B-5 NA will be used in developing a statewide strategic plan and will draw from other recent needs assessments. As part of the B-5 NA, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will complete a statewide B-5 NA to inform DCDEE of ongoing needs for planning to strengthen the early childhood system.

The B-5 NA will be a written report and will focus on five major topics as required by the PDG: 1) data needs; 2) quality and availability of early childhood education (ECE) services; 3) availability and usefulness of information for families; 4) transitions to public school; and 5) collaboration and coordination across the early childhood system. The report will be due July 1, 2019. After that date, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will participate in state planning efforts based on the findings of the Needs Assessment.