EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION

FINANCING STRATEGIES

Success Stories: State Investment in Early Care and Education in Illinois, North Carolina and Rhode Island
This report from Smart Start's National Technical Assistance Center describes three states' stories of increasing investments in early care and education services and discusses the factors common to their success.  The Illinois case study was supported in part by the Build Initiative.

Missed Opportunities: The Possibilities and Challenges of Funding High Quality Preschool through Title I of the
No Child Left Behind Act
This paper from the Center for Law and Social Policy provides general background on the legislation behind Title I and gives an overview of the available data on the use of Title I funds for preschool.  Examples of how some states and communities have used Title I funds for preschool programs are given.

Untapped Potential?  How States Contract Directly with Providers to Shore Up Child Care Choices for Low-Income Families
States currently have the flexibility to contract directly with providers to make child care available to low-income families.  According to this first national study of state child care contracting policies, states are using contracts to increase the supply of child care in certain high-need areas, to provide child care to special populations, and to improve the quality of child care program standards and services.
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Brief

Early Care and Education: Realizing a Collective Vision
This report from the Insight Center for Community and Economic Development examines the early care and education impact model that it developed to serve as a catalyst for systemic change to increase investments and strengthen the formal early care and education industry.

A Stitch in Time: Calculating the Cost of School Unreadiness 
Charlie Bruner presents information and approaches to make the case for investments in early childhood by focusing on the investment potential of early childhood services in school readiness and other desired results. 
 

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE CHILD CARE INDUSTRY

Summary of Child Care Economic Impact Studies
This web site contains a database of childcare economic impact studies around the country including contact information, available resource materials, and links to copies of the full studies.

Insight Center for Community and Economic Development 
The Insight Center developed the ‘Economic Power of Early Care and Education’ impact model to inform policy-makers, business leaders, and economic development leaders about the economic importance of ECE.  The model demonstrates that ECE does more than provide nurturing, educational environments for children—it also plays a vital role in the economy.

National and State Efforts to Create Public Engagement to Support High-Quality Early Care and Education
This document from the National Child Care Information Center lists national and state organizations and publications that have information efforts to use public education campaigns to create awareness for the need to support young children and high-quality care.
 

EARLY LEARNING GUIDELINES

Infant/Toddler Early Learning Guidelines
The purpose of this document is to assist States, Territories, and Tribes working to improve the quality of infant/toddler childcare.  In the document will find overview of existing infant/toddler early learning guidelines (ELGs), intended as a resource for States and Territories as they develop and revise their ELGs for infants and toddlers.

States with Networks of Infant/Toddler Specialists
This summary, published by the Child Care Bureau, provides descriptions of different state infant/toddler specialist networks.

Ready for School - the Case for Including Babies and Toddlers as we Expand Preschool Opportunities
How do we ensure that children enter school eager to learn and ready to succeed?  This report from the Ounce of Prevention Fund argues that if policymakers fail to include babies and toddlers as plans are made for universal preschool, in five years our conversations about "school readiness" will instead be about "preschool readiness."

Starting Off Right: Promoting Child Development from Birth in State Early Care and Education Initiatives
State early care and education policies that start at birth and address the full range of children's development can potentially identify health and developmental issues, link families to support systems.  This CLASP paper describes state strategies to improve early care and education for infants and toddlers and supports to their families.
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Executive Summary

Educare - A Catalyst for Change
The Ounce of Prevention Fund opened its Educare Center on Chicago's south side in February 2000 to address the complicated challenge of ensuring that children at risk of school failure enter kindergarten engaged, healthy, eager to learn, and ready to succeed.

Prenatal Through Pre-K: Building Bright Futures
While there is a growing interest nationwide in early childhood education in the years immediately preceding kindergarten, the unique needs of infants and toddlers have been a public policy afterthought.  This ZERO TO THREE Policy Center brief identifies specific ways that policy makers can include infant and toddler policies in pre-kindergarten initiatives.

Preservice Qualifications for Child Care Center Staff Working with Infants and Toddlers
State childcare licensing regulations provide a baseline of protection for the health and safety of children in out-of-home care.  Licensing rules seek to prevent various forms of harm to children and represent the required level of quality in each state.

State Infant and Toddler Credentials
This summary from the National Child Care Information Center includes information about a sample of states with an infant and toddler credential and overview of the states providing specialized training for infant and toddler teachers.

Credentials for the Infant/Toddler Child Care Workforce: A Technical Assistance Tool for Child Care and Development Fund Administrators
The purpose of this document is to serve as a technical assistance tool to State CCDF Administrators working to improve the quality of infant/toddler childcare in their States through the development of an Infant/Toddler Credential for providers.
 

EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS

Early Head Start Participants, Programs, Families and Staff in 2005
This CLASP fact sheet reviews the 2005 Program Information Reports data for the Early Head Start program, which serves children under age 3 and pregnant women.  In 2005, Early Head Start continued to provide vital services to a diverse group of low-income children and families, most of which included at least one working parent.

From the Beginning: Early Head Start Children, Families, Staff and Programs in 2004 
This CLASP policy brief profiles the Early Head Start program using the latest data from the Program Information Reports that all Head Start grantees must submit to the U.S. Department of Health.  Major changes in 2004 included more children with access to a continuous source of dental care and fewer families receiving TANF benefits.

Preliminary Findings from the Early Head Start Prekindergarten Follow-up
When tasked with designing Early Head Start, the Department of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers envisioned the continuation of high quality services after families completed the infant and toddler program.  This vision, as well as research on continuity of early childhood services, guided the analyses of the prekindergarten follow-up of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project.