2026 Funding Opportunities

2026-27 Funding Opportunities

The Request for Proposals (RFP) is linked here and available for download. However, you must complete the applications through Submittable.

All agencies must submit Attachment B and Attachment C alongside their RFP. Please use the attached documents section located within Submittable. Proposals that do not contain these attachments will be considered incomplete.

First Steps Kent is pleased to offer funding opportunities, organized into four service categories that reflect the essential supports children and families need from pregnancy through kindergarten entry. These categories help ensure that funding is aligned to a shared results framework, rather than a collection of disconnected programs, and they clarify for applicants and community partners where their work fits within the broader early childhood system and how it contributes to community impact. 

Ready by Five uses these categories to organize investments around three core areas: healthy births, on‑track development, and access to high‑quality early learning, along with cross‑cutting implementation supports that strengthen the system’s overall capacity. Together, this framework helps align programs, funding decisions, and outcomes, and helps applicants understand how their proposed services contribute to long‑lasting support for children and families in Kent County.

The proposal deadline is May 15, 2026, by 5 p.m.

RFP Service Category 1: Born Healthy
All children in Kent County are born into conditions that support safe births, healthy beginnings, and infant wellbeing. Families have access to programs and services that
promote healthy pregnancies, strong parent health, and optimal development during the first year of life.

RFP Service Category 2: Developmentally on Track
Young children are healthy, engaged learners who are socially and emotionally secure within nurturing families and communities. They meet key developmental milestones across health, learning, and social-emotional domains with equitable access to supports that help them flourish.

RFP Service Category 3: Early Learning

Every young child and family in Kent County can access affordable, high-quality early learning and care environments that promote development, literacy, and school readiness, regardless of income, language, neighborhood, or ability.

RFP Service Category 4: Accessible Resources

These supports focus on the people, processes, and infrastructure that help families find, access, and benefit from Ready by Five services. They may include professional development for service providers, resource and service navigation for families, language access services, and structures for authentic community input and involvement. Together, these efforts build workforce capacity, improve coordination across providers, and ensure that services reflect the needs, cultures, and languages of Kent County families.

Please note: First Steps Kent reserves the right to modify these funding areas. All updates regarding funding opportunities and information regarding the funding process and the Requests for Proposal process, including additional specifications for each service and program type, will be posted to the First Steps Kent website.

Resources:

Questions and Answers: Here are the final questions and answers as of April 23, 2026.

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