Now Open: TELI 2026–2028 Cohort for Tribal Early Childhood Programs
- Jul 15
- 1 min read
The Tribal Early Learning Initiative (TELI) supports Tribes in building stronger, community-led
early childhood systems by improving coordination between programs such as child care, Head Start, preschool, and home visiting. These programs often operate in silos due to different funding sources, policies, and leadership structures. TELI helps Tribes overcome those barriers.
A TELI project in a Tribal community is designed to:
Coordinate early learning and development services
Build high-quality, seamless early childhood systems
Improve service quality from prenatal to kindergarten entry
Identify and remove barriers to collaboration and systems change
Current and Upcoming Cohorts
The current TELI cohort (2022–2025) supports 41 TELI Network Tribes and provides intensive assistance to 8 TELI Collaborative Tribes. These Collaborative Tribes have worked to braid funding for full-day, full-year services; create coordinated intake systems; improve data sharing; embed Native language and culture; and unify training for early childhood staff.
The next TELI cohort will run from January 2026 to December 2028 and will introduce a new focus on food security and nutrition.
How to Apply
To join the TELI Network: CCDF Tribal Lead Agencies can indicate interest by completing Appendix 2 of their FY 2026–2028 Tribal CCDF Plan in the CARS platform.
To join the TELI Collaborative: View the Statement of Interest and additional details on the TELI website.
Sign up for the webinar August 7th from 3-4 pm ET for an informational webinar on the upcoming TELI Collaborative cohort to learn more about the opportunity.
For more information, contact tribalecd@acf.hhs.gov.
You can also view the official informational flyer to learn more.
