Specifications include, but are not limited to: Delaware has been awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant, Birth through Five (PDG B-5). The grant requires the state to complete a comprehensive statewide B-5 needs assessment and to subsequently develop a five-year strategic plan for the mixed delivery early childhood system. This project will build on the progress Delaware has made in strengthening its services and supports for its youngest learners and their families and provides an opportunity to renew the state’s current five-year early childhood strategic plan that ended in 2018 (Sustaining Early Success, Delaware’s Strategic Plan for a Comprehensive Early Childhood System, 2013). The assessment and strategic plan will also build on five core principles that guide Delaware’s vision for quality, coordination, alignment, and efficiency of programs and services within Delaware’s mixed delivery system from birth to third grade: Whole-Child Development - Children must have opportunities to become physically, emotionally, cognitively, and behaviorally healthy, and have access to high-quality early learning experiences. Many factors influence a child’s development and learning, and Delaware must address all of these factors in an integrated manner to improve long-term outcomes for children. Birth-Through-Third Grade Learning - Currently, early childhood education in Delaware extends across two largely unconnected systems—a mostly private B-5 system and a mostly public kindergarten through-third grade system. To set children up for a lifetime of success, we must strengthen both systems and overcome the gap between them. Family Knowledge and Choice - Family is the most important factor in a child’s development; thus, engaged and knowledgeable families are essential to our children's wellbeing and success. Every facet of Delaware’s system must educate families and provide transparent, user-friendly data to enable families to be active collaborators in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services for their children. Inclusion and Access for All - Delaware’s commitment is to a B-5 mixed delivery system that serves all children in Delaware— vulnerable and underserved children, children with developmental challenges, children who experience trauma, dual language learners, and children either in formal care or at home. The State is committed to making inclusion and access for all a core component of each of its initiatives, embedded into all aspects of program operation and professional development for early childhood providers, schools, agencies, and communities.