DRAFT Early Childhood Alaska

A Strategic Direction for 2025-2030

INTRODUCTION & PROCESS

The DRAFT Early Childhood Alaska: A Strategic Direction for 2025-2030 outlines a series of goals, objectives, strategies, and activities aimed at benefiting children and families across Alaska by 2030, with a Ten-Year North Star Vision for the state’s early childhood system.

The three primary goals focus on children along with their families and communities. This plan seeks to ensure that all Alaskan children and families have equitable access to resources, quality, affordable care and education, and the opportunities they need to thrive.

Through a comprehensive committee process, the draft plan builds on the updated Needs Assessment of Alaska’s Mixed-Delivery System of Early Childhood Care and Education, which included over 2,000 responses collected from the 2024 Parent and Provider Survey and the 2024 Early Childhood Public Opinion Survey.

The public comment period of this draft plan is now closed. It ran from December 20, 2024, through January 17, 2025. Public commentary was accepted on each goal, objective, and strategy outlined in the draft plan. All comments will be considered before the plan is finalized in spring 2025.

You may submit questions or comments via email at [email protected].

This project is funded by a Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) awarded to the Child Care Program Office (CCPO) at the Alaska Department of Health by the Administration for Children and Families, and is jointly administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education. For Alaska, the primary focus is on children birth through age five however the 2024 update includes prenatal through twelve years of age where relevant