US Department of Health and Human Services: Dear Colleague Letter on Mixed Delivery
URL: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ecd/policy-guidance/dear-colleague-letter-mixed-delivery
We are writing to encourage you to work with local educational agencies and early childhood partners in your states and communities to serve more of our youngest learners in high-quality preschool1 through a mixed delivery approach. A mixed delivery approach involves a coordinated effort on the part of States and local communities to support preschool programs across a range of quality settings, building on the expertise and capacity of existing providers and leveraging existing Federal, state, and local funding.
By forging these partnerships, early childhood leaders have an opportunity to amplify the benefits of a mixed delivery approach. The letter lays out a series of benefits including:
- Supporting parents in selecting a setting and location that best meets their child’s and family’s needs, such as providing a longer program day or more flexible scheduling offered in many child care programs, or allowing older and younger siblings to attend the same site;
- Improving access to early intervention and early childhood special education in inclusive early childhood settings to provide more seamless experiences for development and learning for children with disabilities;
- Supporting smooth transitions between preschool and kindergarten, laying a path for success in the early elementary years.