BUILD ISSUED RESEARCH AND POLICY BRIEFS
Compendium of Build-Sponsored Reports
Compiled October 2009
BUILD supports pioneer states in a national movement to create a seamless framework of policies that promotes high quality services. BUILD's commitment to systems building includes probing, raising questions, and clarifying insights in key areas of interest and importance to the field. For your convenience, here is a compendium 
of BUILD-sponsored reports and briefs on topics related to:
Family, Friend and Neighbor Care
Child Health and School Readiness.
SYSTEMS BUILDING
Federal Funding and Young Children
Developed by Charlie Bruner, this report provides an overview of current and potential funding, and outlines directions, challenges, and opportunities states face as they work to build systems and integrate federal funding streams. July 2009 (This draft will be updated when the legislation is finalized.)
Written by Charlie Bruner and Michelle Stover Wright, this brief outlines opportunities for states to include early childhood data in statewide longitudinal data systems. April 2009
Beyond Parallel Play: Emerging State and Community Planning Roles in Building Early Learning Systems
Prepared by Julia Coffman, Michelle Stover Wright and Charles Bruner for BUILD, the system building efforts of six states, including Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Vermont, are profiled in this resource brief. September 2006
DIVERSITY AND EQUITY
Building Early Childhood Systems in a Multi-Ethnic Society: An Overview of BUILD's Briefs on Diversity and Equity
The BUILD Initiative is producing a series of briefs on diversity and equity to help fill a knowledge and communication gap in developing early childhood systems for a multi-ethnic society. The series will describe pioneering efforts within states to address racial/ethnic disparities and promote equity, assess the current state of the field and the research and information available that should undergird state strategies. Building Early Childhood Systems in a Multi-Ethnic Society provides an overview of BUILD's briefs on diversity and equity. October 2008
Crafting Early Learning Standards for a Multi-Ethnic Society: Lessons Learned from Washington and Alaska
This BUILD report is the first in a series of briefs on diversity, equity and systems building. Early learning standards are at the core of society's defining how and what children need to learn, what is expected of them at different developmental stages, and what caregivers and educators are expected to do to help them learn. Child learning involves cultural learning; it is essential that early learning standards be developed responsively--with diverse cultural and language groups in mind. This brief provides information about the experiences in Washington and Alaska so that other states can learn from and build upon their pioneering efforts to address language and cultural issues through their early learning standards. Fall 2008
Building Public Early Childhood Data Systems for a Multi-Ethnic Society
This BUILD brief, written by Charlie Bruner and Betty Emarita, describes some of the issues and opportunities states face in building early childhood data systems for a multi-ethnic society. September 2009
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for a Multi-Ethnic Society
With the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of children in early learning programs, it is critical to understand the value that QRIS place on how well these programs provide culturally and linguistically responsive programming. In this issue brief we discuss:
- Why it is important to include cultural and linguistic responsiveness and anti-bias programming as aspects of early learning quality;
- A content-analysis of common QRIS components with respect to how they include issues of diversity and support for English-language learners;
- How states have included these issues in QRIS planning and development; and
- Recommendations for how states can strengthen their QRIS rating components to be more culturally and linguistically competent and relevant.
Developing a Diverse and Skilled Workforce: Lessons from the New Jersey Abbott Preschool Experience
Julia Coffman, Evaluation Consultant, Melinda Green, Early Childhood Consultant and Barbara Reisman, The Schumann Fund for New Jersey, examine New Jersey's experience in responding to the NJ Supreme Court Abbott Case that required preschool teachers in the states 30 poorest districts to obtain a bachelor's degree and early childhood certification within four years. This powerpoint provides a preview of a BUILD brief that will be completed winter 2009.
GOVERNANCE
State Early Childhood Advisory Councils: Adapted from a presentation by Elliot Regenstein, Partner, Education Counsel LLC
State Early Childhood Advisory Councils can serve a wide range of roles in a state, depending on the progress the state has made to date in its work on early childhood. Clarity about the primary mission of a Council is essential to shape decisions about its membership and scope. This brief discusses the role of early childhood advisory councils in comprehensive systems building efforts.
Building an Early Learning System: The ABCs of Planning and Governance Structures
This Child and Family Policy Center publication, developed in collaboration with the BUILD Initiative, shares state models and rules of thumb to consider in developing planning and governance approaches to create and manage an early learning system. The BUILD Initiative companion policy brief is intended for policy makers and others. December 2004
Policy Brief or Full Report
EVALUATION WORK
The First Seven Years: The BUILD Initiative and Early Childhood Systems Development, 2002 to 2009
Charlie Bruner's essay examines the impact of BUILD's systems building work in states since its inception in 2002. Four states' case studies are provided below. October 2009
Ohio , Minnesota , New Jersey
Framework for Evaluating Systems Initiatives
Developed after the Build Initiative's Evaluation Symposium, Julia Coffman's "A Framework for Evaluating Systems Initiatives" is a significant contribution to understanding, thinking about and evaluating systems change. The Framework is a useful companion to the Build theory of change, which provides a roadmap for describing and connecting the diverse efforts and activities that states have undertaken in seeking to build an early childhood system. August 2007
Executive Summary or Full Report
Build Initiative Theory of Change
This paper organizes the conceptual work undergirding the BUILD Initiative into an explicit theory of change framework. The executive summary of BUILD's Theory of Change provides an overview and graphic depictions of the three interlocking theories. November 2005
Executive Summary or Full Report
QRIS
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems as the Framework for Early Care and Education System Reform
Anne Mitchell's paper focuses on the potential for QRIS to be the unifying framework for creating the early care and education system. July 2009.
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for a Multi-Ethnic Society 
QRIS are designed to be powerful tools that shape provider practices and the professional development and quality improvement supports available based on what are considered important aspects of quality measured in the rating. With the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of children in early learning programs, it is critical to understand the value that QRIS place on how well these programs provide culturally and linguistically responsive programming. In this issue brief we discuss:
- Why it is important to include cultural and linguistic responsiveness and anti-bias programming as aspects of early learning quality;
- A content-analysis of common QRIS components with respect to how they include issues of diversity and support for English-language learners;
- How states have included these issues in QRIS planning and development; and
- Recommendations for how states can strengthen their QRIS rating components to be more culturally and linguistically competent and relevant.
Written by Anne Mitchell and Louise Stoney, Alliance for Early Childhood Finance. The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the “Stimulus Package,” includes a number of appropriations that have relevance for early childhood policy and systems change. Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) are increasingly seen as a foundational piece of systems-building strategies, since they enable states to leverage resources and bring other components such as standards and professional development into alignment with one another. This memo discusses potential resources for early childhood under the Stimulus Package, and identifies ways that these funds could be used to support QRIS.
FAMILY, FRIEND, AND NEIGHBOR CARE
FFN Resource List for Extended Reading 
This resource listing, developed for BUILD's National Meeting on Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care in Minneapolis in September 2009 is a compilation of national and state FFN resources and documents. September 2009
State Policies for Supporting Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care
This policy brief, written for BUILD by Richard Chase of Wilder Research, outlines groundbreaking FFN policies in Minnesota and highlights smart strategies in Hawaii, Washington state, Iowa, and Pennsylvania.
System Building Family, Friend and Neighbor Care Planning Template
The BUILD Initiative designed this planning template and set of next step questions to help states move forward with plans for supporting the learning needs of young children cared for primarily in family, friend and neighbor care settings.
CHILD HEALTH AND SCHOOL READINESS
Including Health in a School Readiness Agenda: Lessons from Illinois
Written for BUILD by Carey McCann of the Ounce of Prevention Fund, this brief shares valuable lessons and strategies from Illinois' experience in pursuing a comprehensive school readiness policy. It also provides concrete examples of efforts to affect policy change in health and mental health systems. January 2009
Issue Brief: Connecting Child Health and School Readiness
By Charles Bruner, Build Initiative and Child and Family Policy Center. This issue brief describes research and practice that documents the broad role for the health system in improving children's healthy development and school readiness. Bruner also explains how policies can help ensure that young children receive preventive and developmental health care; establish links between child health, early learning, early intervention and family support systems; and improve the environments in which children live. February 2009
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