Technical Assistance Grants Program

Smart Start’s National Technical Assistance Center is providing grants valued at $50,000 to $200,000 in technical assistance to states to support the development and implementation of comprehensive, community-based early childhood initiatives. The technical assistance provided under this grants program will focus on the knowledge gained and the lessons learned through North Carolina’s Smart Start Initiative and will be available for a period of 18-24 months following notification of the grant award. States that have received this grant previously include Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. Through generous funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we are pleased to offer this opportunity to an additional 3-5 new states.

Program Description

Three to five additional states will be invited to participate in the Intensive Technical Assistance Grant Program. Among the resources available through this program will be the following:

On-Call Coach: The state will receive assistance from an on-call “coach” designated to work with the state throughout the grant period.
“Expert” Consultation: The state will have access to a range of other consultants with expertise in such topics as evaluation, fundraising, advocacy, public relations, organizational development, strategic planning, mapping, program development, child care licensing and subsidy, quality rating systems, pre-k programs, collaboration, performance accountability systems, political strategies, etc.
Information and Referral The staff of Smart Start’s National Technical Assistance Center will be available on an ongoing basis to answer any questions and to “connect” states to other available resources.
Site Visits: A 3-day site visit to North Carolina will be arranged to allow local and state officials to meet with Smart Start leaders.
Mentoring Program: A local Smart Start partnership will be designated to serve as a mentor to the state.
Conferences: A 5-10 member state team will be sponsored for participation in the National Smart Start Conference. State teams will also be invited to participate in other national meetings on topics of special relevance to their early childhood efforts.
Smart Start Speakers Bureau: A variety of Smart Start speakers will be available to the state for participation in conferences, meetings, and other special events.
Smart Start Resource Materials: State officials will receive copies of all relevant Smart Start publications and other resource materials and may utilize them to support their own state efforts.
National Smart Net: Access to web-based technical assistance, including forms, policies and procedures, and information on effective practices, will be available through the password-protected National Smart.Net web site.

Each of these resources will be provided in a manner that directly meets the needs of state leaders as they move forward in the development and implementation of their state’s early childhood initiative.

Selection Criteria

A state government entity or a nonprofit organization may request participation in the Intensive Technical Assistance Grant Program. Listed below are the criteria for participation. It should be noted that participating states are NOT required to adopt the Smart Start name or the specific Smart Start model. Our technical assistance is designed to assist states in developing an early childhood system that best fits their specific needs and resources.

Leadership: There should be clear leadership and active support for the early childhood initiative by a key elected official in the state.
Community-based: The state’s early childhood efforts should include an approach that allows communities to make the decisions for what is best for their children and families within the bounds of scientific research and best practice. Ideally, local entities will serve as the primary vehicles for decision-making and implementation of the state’s early childhood initiative at the local level.
For ALL Children: While it is anticipated that the majority of resources in any state’s early childhood initiative will be focused primarily on low-income and at-risk children, the priority should be on development of an early childhood system that supports the development of ALL young children.
Comprehensive: The state should be developing an initiative that is comprehensive in its focus, incorporating goals and integrating services in a manner that builds the quality, affordability, and accessibility of child care, assures access to health and developmental services for young children, and strengthens the family’s ability to meet the developmental needs of their children.
Collaborative: The state leadership committee should reflect participation by key officials at the state and local levels involved in service delivery and/or policy development related to young children and families. This would include high-level representatives of the public schools, human service agencies (Social Services, Health, Mental Health), Head Start, Cooperative Extension, and United Way. In addition, child care providers, parents, business leaders, elected officials, civic leaders, and members of the faith community should serve on the leadership committee of the initiative.
Funding: The state should have secured at least initial funding to support the development or implementation of the initiative. A specified amount has not been designated as it will vary based on the state and their level of development.
Staff: The state should designate one staff person who will play a key leadership role in the development of the initiative. This individual will serve as the primary contact for the National Technical Assistance Center.

These criteria will be key factors in determining which states will be selected for participation in the Intensive Technical Assistance Grant Program.

How to Apply

States interested in being considered for the Intensive Technical Assistance Grant Program should send a letter via email to gscobb@smartstart-nc.org with the following information:

Provide a general overview of the current early childhood-related efforts in your state.
Do you have a state-level elected official, state legislators or key business leaders who support early childhood change/investment in your state?
Are you taking a comprehensive approach in your early childhood work? Are you focused on specific age groups or income levels? Please describe your focus.
Do you have or plan to have both state and local-level components to your early childhood efforts?
What funding is currently available to support your work?
Who are the key participants in your collaborative effort? List participants and who they represent.
Please share any information, challenges, successes, etc. that will help us better understand the current status of the early childhood efforts in your state.
Do you have specific topic areas in which you would be particularly interested in receiving technical assistance? Are you primarily interested in assistance at the state or local level or both?
Please submit any attachments that will help us better understand your current efforts.

Contact Us

For more information on how to take advantage of the services and resources available, contact Gerry Cobb, Director of Smart Start’s National Technical Assistance Center, at 919-821-9540
or via email at gscobb@ncsmartstart.org.

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