partnering education partnering with the privateand philanthropic sectorsa governor’s guide...

7/27/2019 Partnering Education Partnering with the Privateand Philanthropic SectorsA Governors Guide toInvesting in Early C

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Partnering with the Privateand Philanthropic Sectors

A Governors Guide to

Investing in Early Childhood


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THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION (NGA), founded in 1908, is the instrument

through which the nations governors collectively inuence the development and implemen-

tation of national policy and apply creative leadership to state issues. Its members are the

governors of the 50 states, three territories, and two commonwealths.

The NGA Center for Best Practices is the nations only dedicated consulting rm for gov-

ernors and their key policy staff. The Centers mission is to develop and implement innovative

solutions to public policy challenges. Through the staff of the Center, governors and their policy

advisors can:

quickly learn about what works, what doesnt, and what lessons can be learned from

other governors grappling with the same problems;

obtain assistance in designing and implementing new programs or in making current

programs more effective;

receive up-to-date, comprehensive information about what is happening in other state

capitals and in Washington, D.C., so governors are aware of cutting-edge policies; and

learn about emerging national trends and their implications for states, so governors

can prepare to meet future demands.

For more information about NGA and the Center for Best Practices, please visit www.nga.org.

John Thomasian, DirectorNGA Center for Best Practices

444 N. Capitol Street, Suite 267

Washington, DC 20001

202.624.5300

www.nga.org/center


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3

Acknowledgements

This governors guide was written by Sarah Daily of the Education Division, National

Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), with Anna Lovejoy, program

director at the NGA Center, and Joan Lombardi, chair, Birth to Five Policy Alliance, with

funding from the Buffett Early Childhood Fund.

A special thanks to Rebecca Silberman, former NGA Center intern and Kristen E. Darling,

of KED Consulting for their research support. The NGA Center also would like to thank

Karen Glass, editor, for her contributions.

Numerous individuals contributed their time and knowledge to create the state proles fea-

tured in this report. Without their assistance this report would not have been possible: Abbe

Hensley, executive director of Alaska Best Beginnings; Eva Lester, early childhood policy ad-

visor and director of Governor Napolitanos Division for School Readiness; Janice Gruendel,

senior advisor for early childhood for Connecticut Governor M. Jodi. Rell; Joan Blough, di-

rector of the Michigan Great Start Collaboratives & Technical Assistance; Jessie Rasmussen,

vice president of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund; Stephanie Fanjul, president of the North

Carolina Partnership for Children; Gerry Cobb, director of the North Carolina National

Technical Assistance Center; Susan Illgen, early childhood division director, Oklahoma

Department of Education; Susan DeVenny, executive director of South Carolina First Steps

to School Readiness; Becky Gonyea, executive director of Vermonts Building Bright Futures;

Kathy Glazer, executive director of Virginia Governor Tim Kaines Working Group on Early

Childhood Initiatives; Scott Hippert, president of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation;

and Garrison Kurtz, operations and policy associate, Thrive By Five Washington.


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contents

Executive Summary 7

Why Do Public, Private, and Philanthropic Leaders Support 11

Early Childhood Development?

What Is an Early Childhood Partnership? 15

Structure 15

Authority 15

State and Local Governance 17

Funding 17

Community Grants and Technical Assistance 17

How Do Partnerships Support State School Readiness Goals? 19

Provide Flexible Funding for Locally Identied Needs 19

Build State and Local Infrastructure 21

Increase Public Awareness and Educate Parents 24

Promote Best Practices 25

What Are the Necessary Steps to Create a Partnership? 27

Convene State, Local, Public, Private, and Philanthropic Leaders 27

Identify Public, Private, and Philanthropic Resources and Expertise 28

Formalize State Commitment and Establish a Partnership Organization 29

Determine the Partnerships Governance Structure 29

Consider Ways to Evaluate Partnership Activities 30

Conclusion 32

Appendix: Proles of State Early Childhood Public-Private Partnerships 33

Alaska 34 Oklahoma 46

Arizona 36 South Carolina 48

Connecticut 38 Vermont 51

Michigan 40 Virginia 53

Nebraska 42 Washington 55

North Carolina 44

Notes 58


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7

Governors recognize that promoting school readiness is a key strategy or

preventing school ailure and subsequent costs to society in the orm o re-

medial education services, health and social services, criminal justice servic-

es, and lost tax revenue.1 In 2005, the National Governors Association Cen-

ter or Best Practices Task Force on School Readiness identifed actions thatgovernors and states can take to support amilies, schools, and communities

in their eorts to ensure all children begin school ready to reach their ull

potential. Governors identifed the impact o early investments in the school

readiness equationchildren who are healthy and ready to learn when they

enter kindergarten have a better chance or school and lie success. The task

orce also concluded that [a]chieving school readiness cannot be accom-

plished by any single agency or individual. It requires public-private partner-

ships and strong leadership rom governors.2

In recent years, several governors have partnered with private and phil-

anthropic leaders to maximize unding and achieve positive outcomes or

young children. This guide describes the nature and activities o such early

childhood public-private partnerships (partnerships). It aims to help gover-

nors and state policymakers navigate through the decisions they will make

i they wish to pursue such partnerships in their own state. Detailed profles

describing the governance, unding, programming, and evaluation o the 11

state early childhood public-private partnerships reerenced throughout the

guide can be ound in the appendix.

executive summAry


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8

wh d P, Pa, a Phahp la spp

ea chh dp?Science and program evaluation research demonstrate that promoting the

healthy development and school readiness o children rom birth to age fve

is an eective strategy or preventing achievement gaps, especially among

the nations most vulnerable children. In response to this research, the pub-

lic, private, and philanthropic sectors have increasingly launched eorts to

support early childhood programs and services. In many states, these sec-

tors recognize that coordinating their eorts through ormal partnerships can

maximize the impact on young children, prevent duplication o eorts, and

ensure the efcient use o resources.

Partnerships bring together diverse resources, perspectives, and expertise

that can inorm state priorities to build public awareness o the importanceo early childhood development and improve the quality and availability o

early care and education programs. The private sector has a vested interest in

supporting the development o a competent and globally competitive work-

orce, which begins by ensuring the developmental needs o young children

are met so they enter school healthy and ready to learn. A growing culture

o corporate social responsibility is also persuading the private sector o the

benefts o supporting their employees and the educational success o their

children. Investing in early childhood development aligns with the broader

philanthropic agenda to promote quality education and, in doing so, support

children, amilies, and communities.

What Is an Early Childhood Partnership?The goal o all early childhood partnerships is to leverage resources and ex-

pertise to increase the quality and availability o programs and services pro-

vided to children rom birth to age fve. Partnerships are not a new concept,

though they are reemerging as an eective way to promote coordinated

investments in early childhood. While partnerships can take many orms,

those eatured in this guide pool public, private, and/or philanthropic unds

through a nonproft state-level entity. Although private resources are not in-

tended to supplant public investment in the healthy development and school

readiness o young children, these resources can be used to spur action and

seed innovation across the state. Public commitments range rom $1 mil-lion to more than $200 million annually. Likewise, private and philanthropic

investments range rom $2 million to more than $30 million annually. Typi-

cally, most o the resources are allocated through community grants to pur-

sue locally identifed initiatives that align with the mission o the state-level

partnership. Partnerships can also retain some unding at the state level to

ocus on statewide initiatives, such as building state and local early childhood

systems inrastructure, promoting best practices, and/or supporting public

awareness campaigns.


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9

How Do Partnerships Support State School Readiness Goals?

States can pursue dierent paths to reach their school readiness goals basedon their priorities. Through grants, training, and technical assistance, part-

nerships can ocus on improving the quality or availability o early childhood

programs by pursuing one or more o these objectives:

Provideexiblefundingforlocallyidentiedneeds,suchasimproving

early care education programs, increasing access to health services, or

providing proessional development opportunities or early childhood

practitioners and leadership;

Buildthestateandlocalinfrastructureneededtocoordinateanearly

childhood system across the state;

Increasepublicawarenessandoutreacheffortstoengagethepublic

and educate parents on the importance o early childhood; and

Promotebestpracticesandbringpromisingmodelsofhigh-quality

programs to scale.

What Are the Necessary Steps to Create a Partnership?Governors and state policymakers can take several steps to explore the via-

bility o creating an early childhood public-private partnership in their state:

Convenestate,local,public,private,andphilanthropicleadersto

highlight the importance o early childhood investments and issue a

call to action;

Identifypublic,private,andphilanthropicresourcesandexpertisethat could orm the oundation o a partnership;

Formalizestatecommitmentthroughlegislationorexecutiveorder

and establish the partnership as a bipartisan nonproft organization;

Determinethepartnershipsstateandlocalgovernancestructure;and

Considerwaystoevaluatetheeffectivenessofthepartnershipsactivities.

States can use partnerships in their toolkit o services and supports or chil-

dren rom birth to age fve. This model o collaboration aords perspectives,

resources, and expertise rom multiple sectors to achieve positive outcomes

or young children.


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11

A childs school readiness, or the expectation o how children will are

upon entry into kindergarten, has increasingly drawn the attention o gover-

nors, business leaders, and philanthropists across the nation. The frst years

o lie beore school entry are a critical period o development and can have a

tremendous impact on a childs ability to succeed in school. During the early

years o lie, the brain undergoes its most rapid growth as neural connections

(synapses) are made at incredible rates. When young children are raised in

healthy environments and nurturing relationships, neural connections are

reinorced and solidifed. Healthy brain development enables children to de-

velop the cognitive, physical, language, social, and emotional skills that are

undamental to school success.3

Yet arriving at kindergarten healthy and ready to learn is a ormidable

challenge or young children who are exposed to high-stress environments

because o poverty, abuse, neglect, or maternal depression; who lack stable

and nurturing relationships; who suer rom poor nutrition; or who lack

access to high-quality health care and early learning opportunities. In the

worst-case scenario, children who are not able to recover rom early gaps

in learning and development ace an increased likelihood o school ailure,

unemployment, and dependence on social welare.4 Such ailure poses sig-

nifcant public costs, as the demand or remedial education services, health

and social services, and criminal justice services takes a toll on societal re-

sources.5

Fortunately, the most vulnerable children stand to receive the greatest

beneft rom programs and services supporting their healthy development.

The National Scientifc Council on the Developing Child ound that or

young children rom low-income amilies, participation in very high-quality,6

center-based early education programs [has] been demonstrated to enhance

child cognitive and social development.7 Participation in these programs has

led to outcomes such as improvements in educational perormance, higher

earnings, and lower levels o criminal behaviors later in lie.8

Moreover, the return or investing in high-quality early childhood pro-

grams and services is substantial. Using the outcomes o improvements in

wh d P, Pa, a Phahp la

spp ea chh dp?


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educational perormance, higher earnings, and lower levels o criminal be-

haviors later in lie, University o Chicago economist and Nobel LaureateJames Heckman has calculated a cost-beneft ratio o approximately $7 or

every $1 invested in high-quality early childhood experiences or at-risk chil-

dren.9 Federal Reserve Bank o Minneapolis economists Rob Grunewald and

Arthur Rolnick have calculated an impressive return or investing in such

high-quality comprehensive programs or at-risk young children and their

amilies. Such investment in early childhood development programs brings

areal(thatis,inationadjusted)publicreturnof12percentandarealtotal

return, public and private, o 16 percent. . . . [W]e are unaware o any other

economic development eort that has such a public return.10

The individual and societal benefts that result rom early childhood pro-

grams and services have captured the attention o the public, private, andphilanthropic sectors. Increasingly, these sectors are initiating support or

early childhood activities in many states.

States recognize the contribution o quality early care and education ex-

periences to school readiness. As o the 20052006 school year, 38 states in-

creased spending or prekindergarten to $3.3 billion to enable nearly 950,000

children to enroll in state-unded prekindergarten programs.11 While increas-

ing access to such programs, states also are working to improve program qual-

ity. Sixteen states that oer state-unded prekindergarten have raised program

quality standards to benchmarks set by The National Institute or Early Edu-

cation Research.12 In addition, 15 states are piloting statewide quality rating

systems.13

These systems assess, improve, and communicate the level o qual-ity in early care and education programs to parents and the provider commu-

nity.14 Numerous other states and communities are piloting similar programs.

Twenty-two states have developed early learning guidelines or children rom

birth to age fve.15 To improve the quality o care or inants and toddlers, at

least 19 states have active inant-toddler specialist networks that provide sup-

port to center-based proessionals and in-home caregivers.16

The private sector has a vested interest in supporting the development o a

competent and globally competitive workorce, which is most eectively os-

tered during the early years o development. A recent report rom The World

Bank states, the evidence is solideconomists, political scientists, neuro-

scientists, and social scientists have substantial data proving that programswhich promote the growth and development o young children (ages 06

years) are the best investment or developing the human capital necessary

or economic growth. Early child development:

Isthefoundationofhuman-capitalformation;

Hasthehighestrateofreturnineconomicdevelopment;and

Isthemostcost-effectivewaytoreducepovertyandtofostereconomic

growth.17

The private sector has

a vested interest in

supporting the development

of a competent and globally

competitive workforce,

which is most effectively

fostered during the early

years of development.


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13

In 2004, The Business Roundtable, an association o chie executive of-

cers o leading U.S. companies, and Corporate Voices or Working Families, acoalition o representatives rom leading corporations, issued a call to action

to the private sector that outlined the business case or supporting invest-

ments in early childhood. The business community supports high-quality

early childhood education programs because they lead to improved educa-

tion results, a world-class work orce, a healthier society, and ultimately a

stronger economy.18 Companies have responded with large investments in

early childhood programs, such as Grow Up Great, a 10-year, $100 million

project o the PNC Bank Foundation that grants unds to nonproft organiza-

tions to improve the school readiness o children rom birth to age fve.19

Moreover, supporting the healthy development o children rom birth to

age fve aligns with the business sectors growing interest in meeting cor-porate social responsibility goals to support their employees and the educa-

tional success o their children. While developing a competitive workorce is

a long-term strategy or economic growth, in the short term employers in-

creasingly fnd that the availability o good early childhood programs is criti-

cal to the recruitment and retention o parent employees.20 For example,

in 2001, the Boeing Company committed nearly $500,000 to improve early

childhood learning programs in Washington communities where the most

company employees live and work.21 Boeing has since committed leadership

and unding as a key partner o Thrive by Five, the states public-private part-

nership or school readiness.

Partnerships align with the philanthropic communitys broader agenda topromote quality education and, in doing so, support children, amilies, and

communities. The Omaha, Nebraska-based Buett Early Childhood Fund and

the Ounce o Prevention Fund in Illinois work with partners in at least six

communities nationwide to create state-o-the-art Educare centers to better

prepare young children or success in school. The Educare approach blends

philanthropic and public unding in a unique model o partnership. Philan-

thropic unds support the construction o Educare centers, and public unds

cover program costs. Each Educare center provides seamless high-quality

early care and education to 150 to 200 inants, toddlers, and preschoolers

growing up in low-income amilies.22

Philanthropic leaders in Connecticut conducted a scan o current invest-ments, documenting more than $75 million in private and philanthropic

unds allocated to early childhood programs and services. Using the results,

state, private, and philanthropic leaders developed a plan to align current

investments to the priorities o the Connecticut Early Childhood Education

Cabinets Early Childhood Investment Framework. A leading Connecticut

philanthropy, the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, proposed a

public-private matching plan to the state cabinet, which subsequently voted

to allocate $1.25 million in new state unds to leverage $800,000 in addi-


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tional philanthropic investments during the current biennium. Funds will be

used to support local capacity building and enhance the states Parent TrustFund, which provides unding to train parents in civic leadership. Connecti-

cuts state and philanthropic leaders continue to explore avenues or urther

collaboration, which may include new ormal structures or managing public

and philanthropic resources.

Given the public, private, and philanthropic communities interest in early

childhood, these sectors recognize that coordinating their eorts through

ormal partnerships maximizes the impact on young children, prevents du-

plication o eort, and ensures the efcient use o resources. Many states

have created early childhood public-private partnerships that bring together

the resources, perspectives, and expertise o the public, private, and philan-thropic sectors in order to inorm state priorities to build public awareness o

the importance o early childhood development and improve the quality and

availability o early care and education programs.


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Early childhood public-private partnerships aim to improve the quality and

availability o programs and services provided to children rom birth to age

fve. Although partnerships are not a new concept, they are reemerging as

an eective strategy to maximize unding and achieve positive outcomes

or young children. Details on the eatures, orm, and unctions o existing

state models can guide governors and state policymakers interested in cre-

ating an early childhood partnership.

StructureExisting state models o early childhood partnerships share some common

eatures. Each pools public, private, and/or philanthropic unds through a

nonproft state-level entity. These partnerships bring together diverse state

and local stakeholders, such as parents, legislators, service providers, state

agency and business leaders, and members o the philanthropic commu-

nity. Resources are typically allocated to communities throughout the state

to support activities aligned with the partnerships vision. Partnerships can

also retain some unding at the state level to ocus on statewide initiatives,

such as building state and local early childhood systems inrastructure,

promoting best practices, and/or supporting public awareness campaigns.

These collaborative bodies can be created to pursue a short-term endeavor

or established to sustain programs and services or a long period.

AuthoritySome states have enacted legislation to codiy the creation o the public-

private partnership, while others have enacted partnerships through ex-

ecutive order. Typically, partnerships are established as a new bipartisan

501(c)3 nonproft organization or are housed within an existing nonproft

entity.

wha i a ea chh Pahp?


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State and Local Governance

A state-level executive board determines the partnerships shared vision,goals, and outcomes. The number o governing board members ranges

rom 7 to 30. Members may include parents, state agencies, business and

philanthropic leaders, child care providers, medical proessionals, and rep-

resentatives rom the executive branch. Similarly, communities receiving

unding usually are required to create a local advisory board or steering

committee to oversee the implementation o activities and use o unds.

These boards typically represent a cross-section o parents, early childhood

and health proessionals, local government agency personnel, and civic and

business leaders.

FundingPublic commitments range rom $1 million to more than $200 million an-

nually. Private and philanthropic investments range rom $2 million to

more than $30 million annually. These resources cover the costs o sta-

ing the partnership, unding the grants that are awarded to communities,

and supporting any statewide activities. Not all public-private partnerships

require large public and private capital investments, however. Partnerships

can oten generate in-kind resources and support, such as loaned sta and

meeting space.

Community Grants and Technical Assistance

Under the models eatured in this guide, most partnership unds are allocat-ed to acilitate community activities that closely align with the partnerships

mission. Almost all partnerships support community eorts to conduct a

needs assessment soresourcescan beexiblyandstrategically targeted.

Communities generally respond to a request or proposals or submit an

application or unding. In some states, the public-private partnership sup-

ports activities in every community or region. In other states, the resources

support activities in a ew demonstration communities or pilot sites and,

in the long term, may seek to bring these models to scale. Depending on

the purpose, grants can range rom $25,000 to $500,000 annually, and

most require a local match ranging rom 10 percent to 50 percent o the

grant amount. Resources are typically targeted or health, amily support,and early care and education services or children rom birth to age fve.

The state-level entity may also provide technical assistance, oversight, and

monitoring o communities progress toward desired outcomes.


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All partnerships leverage the resources, perspectives, and expertise o the

public, private, and philanthropic sectors to increase the quality and avail-

ability o programs and services or children rom birth to age fve. In many

states, parents ace multiple challenges when trying to access high-quality

care or their children. Eligibility requirements or state and ederal pro-

grams are difcult to navigate and may change depending on the parents

income level. Families that live in remote areas simply may not have high-

quality provider choices within a reasonable distance. Even when home- or

center-based care options are available, it may be difcult or parents to

fnd programs that provide the comprehensive services they and their chil-

dren need. Or, these programs may not live up to the basic tenets o qual-

ity care, which include well-trained teachers, relatively low child-teacher

ratios, and eective parent education and involvement.

The private and philanthropic sectors can partner with states to support

the school readiness o children rom birth to age fve and achieve one or

more o these objectives:

Provideexiblefundingforlocallyidentiedneeds,suchasimproving

early care and education programs, increasing access to health services,

or providing proessional development opportunities or early childhood

practitioners and leadership;

Buildthestateandlocalinfrastructureneededtocoordinateanearly

childhood system across the state;

Increasepublicawarenessandoutreacheffortstoengagethepublicandeducate parents on the importance o early childhood; and

Promotebestpracticesandbringpromisingmodelsofhigh-quality

programs to scale.

Provide Flexible Funding for Locally Identied NeedsManystate-levelpartnershipssupportcommunitiesbyprovidingexible

unding to pursue activities that improve programs and services or young

children and their amilies. Partnerships typically support community e-

orts to conduct a needs assessment to identiy unding priorities.

H d Pahp spp sa sh

ra ga?


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North Carolinas Smart Start initiative strengthens service delivery by

supporting early childhood systems at the local level. For the past 15 years,the states public-private partnership, the North Carolina Partnership or

Children (NCPC), has granted unds to local partnerships throughout the

state. In addition, NCPC oversees and provides technical assistance to local

partnerships. Based on locally conducted needs assessments, communities

use the unds to strengthen the quality o early education, increase aord-

ability and access, provide health-related services, and engage and support

parents through a variety o programs including parent education classes.

In January 2004, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano unveiled her School

Readiness Action Plan, a fve-year initiative to create a statewide early child-

hood system. Drawing on the expertise o public and private stakeholders,

the state partnered with the Arizona Community Foundation, the TucsonCommunity Foundation, and the United Way o Tucson and Southern Arizo-

na to establish the Arizona Early Education Funds (AEEF). AEEFs resources

are devoted to unding projects that promote high-quality early childhood

services, such as the creation o school readiness regional partnerships in

Arizonas 15 counties and the proessional development leadership program

CHASE Early Education Emergent Leaders. In November 2006, voters passed

Proposition 203, or First Things First or Arizonas Children. The ballot ini-

tiative authorizes the use o revenue rom a new tobacco tax to generate an

estimated $150 million in new unds or high-quality early childhood devel-

opment and health programs. These unds will be disseminated statewide

through a network o regional councils, which will build on relationshipsinitiated and lessons learned during the AEEF regional partnership process.

The dedicated public unding available through First Things First will sustain

the work at the local level that was initiated through private unding. Many

AEEF partnerships will choose to continue operations in partnership with

their local First Things First council.

In April 2006, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman signed legislation to

create a Birth to Three Early Childhood Education Endowment or at-risk

children, with a commitment o $40 million in public unds matched by $20

million rom private philanthropic sources. In November 2006, voters ap-

proved a constitutional amendment to permanently establish public unding

or the endowment through the use o Educational Land Trust Funds. Aboard o trustees administers the endowments grant allocation process. As

prescribed in legislation, all board members are appointed by the governor

and include the Commissioner o Education, Director o Health and Human

Services, two early childhood proessionals rom rural and urban areas, and

two persons recommend by the endowment provider to represent the pri-

vate investors in the endowment. The endowments competitive grants are

awarded to school districts to partner with local agencies or programs in their

communities or birth-to-three services or at-risk children. Grants require a

match o at least 50 percent o total program costs.23


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21

Governor Mark Sanord has been a champion o First Steps to School Read-

iness, South Carolinas public-private partnership or early childhood thataims to ensure young children are ready or school. The partnership lever-

ages resources to increase the quality and availability o early care and learn-

ing programs throughout the state. It promotes the importance o nutrition

and health care in securing the long-term academic success and well-being o

young children. Moreover, First Steps supports parents and amilies in their e-

orts to develop school readiness and child well-being, helping to ensure school

entry is a smooth and benefcial transition or the states youngest learners. To

help ensure these services are delivered eectively, South Carolina established

First Steps partnerships in every county. These local-level partnerships identiy

specifc community needs and oster collaboration among service providers

to fll programmatic gaps. By tailoring its eorts to specifc community needs,First Steps increases school readiness outcomes or all children.

For several decades, Oklahomas public and private leaders have cham-

pioned early childhood education through partnerships. These champions,

both in the private work o early childhood and the public, have become na-

tionally recognized experts who have successully advocated or and imple-

mented a model public-private partnership the state legislature has now ad-

opted as the Early Childhood Pilot Project or birth to our-year-olds. During

the 2006 legislative session, Oklahoma appropriated unds to the state educa-

tion department or a new public-private early childhood pilot program or

inants and toddlers. The state committed up to $5 million in unding in the

frst year to match $10 million rom private and philanthropic sources. In2007, the state appropriated $10 million, with a $15 million private-sector

match. The Oklahoma Department o Education, which oversees implemen-

tation o the states universal prekindergarten program through local school

districts, contracted with the Community Action Project o Tulsa County to

roll out the inant-toddler pilot program statewide. Smart Start Oklahoma,

a 29-member nonproft partnership organization, is providing project coor-

dination and technical assistance. The pilot model allows or nationally ac-

credited providers to expand their slots or inants and children up to age our

or low-income amilies, with state money earmarked or operating expenses

and private unding directed to capital costs. In the frst year o operation,

1,200 slots were added or enhanced, 150 classrooms were added, and 15community providers were working in 20 communities statewide.

Build State and Local InfrastructureUnder the 20022003 chairmanship o ormer Governor Paul E. Patton o Ken-

tucky, the National Governors Association established a gubernatorial Task

Force on School Readiness to identiy actions that governors and states can

take to support amilies, schools, and communities in their eorts to ensure all

children are ready or school. Recommendations rom the fnal report, Build-

ing the Foundation or Bright Futures, encourage states to ensure young children


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and their parents have access to

a comprehensive early childhooddevelopment system o programs

and services to support their

needs. This system o interrelat-

ed systems would coordinate the

states early learning programs;

services or parents o young chil-

dren; health, mental health, and

nutrition programs; and early in-

tervention services to aid young

children with special needs (see

fgure on State Early ChildhoodDevelopment System).24

Although many states are

working to create a synchronized

early childhood system, coordi-

nation is no easy task. Programs

and services within and among

the interrelated systems are oten administered by dierent state agencies,

and most states lack the inrastructure needed at the state or local level to

coordinate programs or services across these systems. In many states, sys-

tems o early childhood are not interrelated as depicted in the fgure but ex-

ist as a nonsystem o stand-alone and uncoordinated programs and services.Eorts to create a seamless delivery system are urther complicated by the

myriad ederal and state unding streams that support dierent programs and

services or young children and their amilies. Without the inrastructure to

support coordination, services are oten duplicated and unding cannot be

maximized. As a result, states struggle to provide a comprehensive and seam-

less system o care or amilies and young children.

Coordinating these systems o supportsboth at the state level and within

the communities that administer the supportsrequires resources that are

not typically available in state and community program operating budgets.

Without a coordinating inrastructure, or the resources to support local e-

orts to build the capacity or high-quality services, communities struggle tomake do by accessing the patchwork o available programs and services.

Partnerships help establish, support, or expand on the existing early child-

hood system inrastructure. To achieve this goal, resources are allocated to

und oversight, administrative support, collaboration, and technical assistance

to local entities. Whether or not the partnership is established as a ormal

governance structure, the process o allocating resources creates a channel o

communication among the state-level stakeholders, rom the state entity to

the local partnerships and within and among the local partnerships.

State Early ChildhoodDevelopment System

ea

la

Fa

spp

Hah,

ma Hah,

a n

spa

n/ea

i

All children need comprehensive

health services that address vision,

hearing, nutrition, behavioral,

and oral health as well as

medical health needs.

All children with special needs

should be identied as early as

possible, assessed, and receive

appropriate services.

All families should have

economic and parentingsupports to ensure all

children have nurturing

and stable relationships

with caring adults.

All children should have access to early care

and education opportunities in nurturing

environments where they can learn what

they need to succeed in school and life.

Source: Early Childhood Systems Working Group, 2006.


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23

For example, the goal o Michigan Governor Jennier Granholms Great

Start initiative is to coordinate early childhood services provided across the

state. In the short term, the initiative aims to improve the quality o early

childhood initiatives. In the long term, stakeholders are working together tocreate a cohesive statewide early childhood system or children rom birth

to age fve. A key component o Great Start is Michigans public-private

partnership, the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC). ECIC

uses public and private dollars to promote early childhood inrastructure

development at the local level, and it then coordinates the resulting eorts

statewide. To help communities provide universal, high-quality early child-

hood experiences, ECIC oers grants to build community-based capacity

and launch local decision-making entities called Great Start collaboratives.

In addition to providing fnancial support or early childhood through in-


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24

creased public and private investment, ECIC is careully reviewing current

state-wide investment or the purposes o accountability and reorm. Fi-nally, ECIC serves as a hub o best practices or parents, service providers,

and community leaders.

In 2006, Governor Tim Kaine o Virginia launched Smart Beginnings,

an initiative that promotes investments in early childhood development.

This eort provides a comprehensive context and complement to the gov-

ernors Start Strong plan to increase our-year-olds access to high-quality

preschool. The Virginia Early Childhood Foundation is the nonproft host o

Smart Beginnings that integrates public and private unding streams and o-

ers systems-building grants to local coalitions. Communities use these grants

to improve existing programs, coordinate early childhood services, and track

programmatic outcomes. The oundation also builds public awareness o theimportance o early childhood development through its Smart Beginnings

Web site, which unctions as a public outreach tool.

With state unding support rom Alaska Governor Sarah Palins fscal

2008 budget, Best Beginnings: Alaskas Early Childhood Investment (or-

merly Ready to Read, Ready to Learn) brings the resources and perspectives

o the private and public sectors together through the collaborative eorts o

oundations, state representatives, business leaders, the Alaska Native com-

munity, nonproft organizations, and the aith-based community. Best Be-

ginnings is working to ensure the recommendations o the Ready to Read,

Ready to Learn Task Force are implemented. Those recommendations in-

clude promoting the development o a statewide system o voluntary andaordable early childhood education with in-home and out-o-home options

or children and amilies in all communities.

Increase Public Awareness and Outreach to ParentsBuilding public awareness and support or early childhood development is

oten a primary goal and unction o public-private partnerships. As part-

nerships launch public awareness campaigns and monitor and report the

progress o their investments, they become eective mechanisms or culti-

vating new early childhood champions. In many states, new champions at

the state and local levels have been integral to the success o a partnerships

ability to sustain progress over time.In Washington, Thrive by Five coordinates a statewide campaign afli-

ated with the national Born Learning Campaign o the United Way. Born

Learning Washington consists o 10 locally led campaigns and a statewide

eort o more than 25 statewide organization partners. The Washington

Department o Early Learning provides matching grants to six community

campaigns spanning 20 counties. The campaign includes airing radio and

cable television public service announcements, contributing news stories and

editorials to major local papers, and distributing Born Learning and partner

organizations materials in English and Spanish.


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The Smart Beginnings Blitz in Virginia was a series o events held across

the state between Mothers Day and Fathers Day highlighting the impor-tance o early childhood development or parents and amilies. Activities

were organized by local libraries, local departments o health and social ser-

vices, child care resource and reerral ofces, and other agencies and organi-

zations serving children and amilies.

Promote Best PracticesState-level partnerships can oer opportunities or local partnerships and re-

gional partnerships to collaborate and share best practices with each other.

Partnerships like Michigans Early Childhood Investment Corporation

provide technical assistance and opportunities or all local partnerships to

participate in discussion orums and trainings. This model promotes bestpractices across the state and enables the state-level partnership to commu-

nicate with local entities on relevant policy issues. The regularity o com-

munication helps develop the inrastructure needed or a cohesive statewide

early childhood system.

To bring to scale best practices or high-quality early care and education,

Washingtons Thrive by Five identifed two communities to serve as mod-

els o comprehensive early learning systems. These communities eectively

synchronize high-quality early learning opportunities, home-based support

services, and parent education and local awareness programs. In addition,

each community hosts a model child care center that serves as a local hub or

parent support and oers proessional development opportunities to otherservice providers. Thrive by Five also oers promising practices grants that

support eective and innovative early learning programs statewide. For ex-

ample, through a Reading Readiness initiative, Thrive by Five and the state

Department o Early Learning are jointly unding community-based initia-

tives that promote emergent literacy and early reading skills among children

rom birth to age fve. Selected grantee plans include parent and community

involvement, public awareness eorts, and the coordination o resources and

partnerships with local school districts.

To promote best practices across the nation, the North Carolina Smart

Start National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) supports collaboration

and coordination among the public, private, and philanthropic sectors withinother states. NTAC resources, including grants, meetings, consultations, guest

speakers, site visits, and assessment and planning tools, to help other states

and communities create successul early childhood systems. NTAC also hosts

an annual national conerence that ocuses on how to develop comprehen-

sive early childhood programs and systems. Attendees include representa-

tives o local Smart Start partnerships rom state and local governments, and

national early childhood organizations and nonproft organizations.


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wha A h na sp ca a Pahp?

Governors are in a unique position to champion the creation o public-pri-

vate partnerships and bring together stakeholders with diverse resources,

perspectives, and expertise. Governors and state policymakers interested in

establishing a ormal partnership will need to take the ollowing steps:

Convenestate,local,public,private,andphilanthropicleaderstohighlight

the importance o early childhood investments and issue a call to action;

Identifypublic,private,and philanthropic resources and expertisethat

could orm the oundation o a partnership;

Formalize statecommitment through legislationoranexecutiveorder

and establish the partnership as a bipartisan nonproft organization;

Determinethepartnershipsstateandlocalgovernancestructure;and

Considerwaystoevaluatetheeffectivenessofthepartnershipsactivities.

Convene State, Local, Public, Private, and Philanthropic LeadersGovernors are powerul champions or engaging the diverse group o public

and private stakeholders needed or successul partnerships. As a frst step,

a governor can convene legislators, local authorities, and leaders rom the

business and philanthropic communities to increase awareness o the im-

portance o early childhood programs and services and issue a call to action.

Governors also can commission a task orce to review existing governance

structures and current public and private investments in early childhood.

The results can inorm discussions about the possible role, structure, and

political viability o a ormal partnership entity.In January 2007, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano hosted a state-

wide Early Childhood Summit to celebrate the successul passage o the

First Things First or Arizonas Children ballot initiative that established a

public unding stream or early childhood and make connections between

the existing regional partnerships and the newly appointed members o

the Early Childhood Development and Health Board. The summit included

state and community leaders, as well as philanthropic and private-sector

leaders, and provided a venue to explore how the new public unding

source would coordinate with existing private and philanthropic unds.


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In Washington, Governor Christine Gregoire appointed an Early Learn-

ing Advisory Council. This body is the permanent successor to the tempo-rary Early Learning Councilalso appointed by the governorwhich was

charged with developing initial recommendations or early learning that

included the creation o a cabinet-level Department o Early learning as a

top priority. The governor acted immediately to work with the legislature,

which provided bipartisan support or the departments creation. The per-

manent Early Learning Advisory Council is required to advise the depart-

ment on statewide early learning community needs and progress. It also is

responsible or creating a statewide early learning plan that crosses systems

and sectors to promote alignment o private and public sector actions, ob-

jectives, and resources and to ensure school readiness. Governor Gregoire

also has supported strong connections between the new department and apublic-private partnership developed at the same time to build momentum.

In addition, Governor Gregoire serves as the co-chair o that partnership,

known as Thrive by Five Washington, alongside Bill Gates Sr. o the Bill &

Melinda Gates Foundation.

Identify Public, Private, and Philanthropic Resourcesand ExpertiseGovernors and state policymakers can assess private- and philanthropic-sec-

tor investments in early childhood to identiy prospective unding partners

and gauge interest in a ormal partnership. Connecticut Governor M. Jodi

Rell issued an executive order establishing the Connecticut Early ChildhoodResearch and Policy Council to help implement the states Early Childhood

Investment Plan, and named a leading philanthropist (along with a leader in

business and a leader in higher education) to co-chair the council. Council

members representing the philanthropic community reviewed private-sector

investments and developed recommendations to align them with the states

investment priorities. These activities spurred new eorts to partner and le-

verage philanthropic- and public-sector unding.

Governors also can identiy opportunities to leverage the states ederal

dollars with private and philanthropic unding. In 2005, Michigan com-

mitted approximately $15 million in ederal Child Care Bureau block grant

unding to the Early Childhood Investment Corporation to support localinvestments. The ECIC was also designed as the fduciary or a ederal Early

Childhood Comprehensive Systems grant, which is oered to all states by

the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Strategic use o $1 million rom

the states School Aid Fund enabled the ECIC to leverage $6.5 million in

private unding rom the Kellogg Foundation. The Joyce Foundation also

unded state eorts to build public support or early childhood issues.


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29

Formalize State Commitment and Establish a

Partnership OrganizationGovernors play a key role in ensuring the public sector is ully represented

in a public-private partnership. When partnerships are ready to be ormal-

ized, governors can establish partnerships through an executive order (Con-

necticut); appoint cabinet-level, public-sector leaders to serve on the board

(North Carolina); or even chair or co-chair the board themselves (South

Carolina and Washington). Governors also can support public investment

in such partnerships by including unding in the operating budget (Alaska)

and/or supporting specifc legislation to appropriate unds (Oklahoma).

To ensure long-term sustainability and maintain a consistent bipartisan

ocus, most public-private partnerships are established in the public sector

as 501(c)3 charitable organizations. However, some states establish theirpartnership within an existing public-private nonproft organization. Non-

proft status enables partnerships to accept public and private unding and

obtain tax-exempt status, and it protects the partnerships members and

directors rom personal liability.

South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington established a new, autono-

mous nonproft organization to house their partnership. Michigans Early

Childhood Investment Corporation is a public, nonproft corporation housed

independent o state government and operates simultaneously in the public

and private sectors. In Nebraska, the state board o education selected the

Nebraska Children and Families Foundation as the private administrator o

the Nebraska Early Childhood Education Endowment through a competitiveproposal process. Alaskas Best Beginnings is co-managed by two existing

nonproft agencies, the Alaska Humanities Forum and United Way o An-

chorage.

Determine the Partnerships Governance StructureIn most states, an executive board is required to attain nonproft status, but

it is also created to determine the partnerships shared vision and goals. The

size o the governing board typically ranges rom 7 to 30, with members

representing parents, state agencies, businesses and philanthropies, child

care providers, the medical community, and the executive ofce.

Establishing an executive governing body with diverse stakeholders at thehelm ensures the entity can withstand changes in political leadership and

maintain a consistent, bipartisan ocus. Michigans Early Childhood Invest-

ment Corporation has an independent board o directors that is governed by

a 15-member executive committee appointed by the governor. Board mem-

bers represent parents; state and local government; the nonproft sector; and

business, civic, aith, and community groups. In South Carolina, the gov-

ernor, president pro tempore o the senate, and speaker o the house o rep-

resentatives together appoint 20 voting members, drawn rom the business,


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30

medical, education, and child care sectors. These voting members are joined

by 11 nonvoting members representing all state agencies that provide ser-vices to young children and their amilies. Nebraskas Early Childhood Edu-

cation Endowment has a board o trustees that includes the commissioner

o education, the director o health and human services, and our governor-

appointed members rom the nonproft and provider communities.

Consider Ways to Evaluate Partnership ActivitiesMeasuring the impact o public-private partnerships is essential to ensure

accountability and long-term sustainability. Evaluation is critical not only

to satisy accountability requirements, but also to communicate the value o

investments and oster a culture o continuous improvement. Good evalua-

tion systems set clear expectations about an initiatives intended outcomesand what is to be measured. They also incorporate multiple evaluation

approaches (e.g., implementation studies, indicator tracking, and impact

studies) and build capacity within communities to measure progress. With

this goal in mind, an important role o partnerships is to provide guidance

and technical assistance to communities on how to establish, track, and

report outcomes. Developing an ongoing communications strategy to share

outcomes and lessons learned with critical audiences such as legislators,

unders, communities, and parents keeps momentum behind the initiative

and ensures continued support.

In South Carolina, legislation requires First Steps to contract with an

outside evaluator to measure its eectiveness every three years. The frstevaluation, conducted in 2003, ocused on implementation and addressed

whether First Steps was doing the right things, in the right ways, or the

right people.25 The second evaluation in 2006 shited the ocus to out-

comes and whether First Steps is getting the right results. The evaluation

showed that First Steps successully targeted resources to the neediest and

poorest children. Among the children who participated in programs sup-

ported by First Steps, the study ound an improvement in the cognitive

abilities o those served in state-unded our-year old kindergarten and a

demonstrated improvement in the quality o child care programs supported

by First Steps.26 Positive fndings cultivated strong support among critical

stakeholders. A bipartisan group o 25 senators and 79 representatives co-sponsored legislation to reauthorize First Steps until 2013, which the state

legislature passed unanimously. Governor Mark Sanord signed the reau-

thorization bill in March 2006, appearing alongside First Steps original au-

thorizer, ormer Governor Jim Hodges.

While still in the early implementation stages, the partnerships in Mich-

igan and Virginia are mindul o the need to measure progress and cap-

ture and communicate results rom the investments in local communities.

The Michigan Early Childhood Investment Corporation is responsible or


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evaluating the local and statewide systems on the basis o expected out-

comes. ECICs role is to defne expectations, defne and monitor peror-

mance standards, and establish baseline data or local Great Start commu-

nities. The ECIC is also charged with tracking economic outcome data and

compiling and sharing state and local system evaluation data. In exchangeor unding, local Great Start communities must identiy and report on per-

ormance measures or community assessment and planning. The Virginia

Early Childhood Foundation (VECF) is quickly assuming its role to provide

technical assistance to community grantees on evaluation methods and

requirements. VECF hosts evaluation workshops where communities can

develop a common understanding and approach to measuring progress so

collective lessons and progress toward intended outcomes can be identifed,

despite high degrees o variation in each grantees goals and activities.


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Supporting the readiness o young children at risk or school ailure is criti-

cal to the nations uture. Although private resources are not intended to

supplant public investment in the healthy development and school readi-

ness o young children, they can be used to spur action and seed innova-

tion across the state. Partnerships can support a cohesive early childhoodsystem at the state and local levels, improve the quality and availability o

programs and services, and cultivate a new cadre o champions to support

early childhood initiatives. Governors can draw on other states experiences

and lessons learned to inorm their leadership and design o a partnership

that would best serve their states needs. Public-private partnerships are

not a silver bullet, but they are an important strategy or building a strong

oundation o services and supports or young children to help ensure their

healthy development and school readiness.

conclusion


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APPendix

ProFiles oF stAte eArly cHildHood

Public-PrivAte PArtnersHiPs


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Best Beginnings:

Alaskas Early Childhood Investment Partnershipwww.bestbeginningsalaska.org

Background

Nearly hal o Alaska children enter school unprepared to

succeed, particularly in early literacy. Representatives rom

dierent oundations, nonproft organizations, and other

sectors were concerned and wanted to take action. In May

2005, Alaska leaders gathered or a two-day summit on

early literacy and learning. Based on the work at this sum-

mit, 27 Alaskan business, civic, philanthropic, education,

and government leaders ormed the Ready to Read, Ready

to Learn Task Force. Ater gathering input rom Alaskan

and national experts in early childhood literacy and learn-

ing, the task orce released its recommendations in Sep-

tember 2006. The report identifes a role or nearly every

member o the community, including parents and otheramily members, caregivers, educators, businesses, non-

proft groups, oundations, aith-based organizations, and

government entities.

The partnership Best Beginnings: Alaskas Early Child-

hood Investment was created in 2006 rom a recommen-

dation o the Ready to Read, Ready to Learn Task Force.

The public-private partnership promotes the development

o a statewide system o voluntary and aordable early

childhood education with options or children and amilies

in all communities.

Governance

Implementation o the Ready to Read, Ready to LearnTask Force recommendations is overseen by an executive

board, the Early Learning Council, and others who are

committed and passionate about ensuring Alaska children

are prepared or the demands o kindergarten and beyond.

Best Beginnings completed a three-year implementation

plan to ensure the task orce recommendations become a

reality.

Best Beginnings is managed by the states Early Learn-

ing Council and an existing nonproft agency, United Way

o Anchorage. Currently United Way o Anchorage serves

as the fscal agent or Best Beginnings. The partnership has

not been established as a new nonproft organization.

Funding

The partnership has received major contributions rom BP

and ConocoPhillips, grants rom the Alaska Departments

o Health and Social Services and Education and Early De-

velopment, and unding or in-kind services rom the CIRI

Foundation; the Rasmuson Foundation; Shell Oil; the First

Alaskans Institute; Child Care Connection, Inc.; Alaska Pub-

lic Telecommunications, Inc.; the University o Alaska; the

Alaska Association or the Education o Young Children; In-

ormation Insights; United Way o Anchorage; Alaska Head

Start Association; the Alaska Childrens Trust; Alaska Com-

munity Action Program, Inc.; Smart Starts National Techni-cal Assistance Center; and the Alaska Humanities Forum.

Fundraising eorts are ongoing.

Programming

The partnership ocuses on increasing access to early learn-

ing opportunities at the local level, particularly or at-risk

amilies. In collaboration with Best Beginnings, the gover-

nors ofce held a Governors Summit on Early Learning

in 2007. The goals o the summit were to develop recom-

mendations to:

Improveaccesstoearlyliteracyandlearningopportuni-

ties or children most in need o such services, whether

oered in the home or in other settings;

Improvethecoordinationoftheseservices;and

Increasetheengagementofparents,grandparents,and

extended amily in young childrens learning by provid-

ing support, resources, and incentives.

AlAskA


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With a grant rom the Alaska Department o Health and

Social Services, Best Beginnings developed a quality rating

and improvement system or the state. The grant deliver-

ables include recommendations about cost and phased-in

implementation. As in other states, the mid- to higher-lev-

el ratings will indicate a program is likely to provide appro-

priate, quality learning environments and opportunities.

In partnership with the Alaska Departments o Edu-

cation and Early Learning and Health and Social Servic-

es, Best Beginnings is ensuring the states early learning

guidelines (ELGs) are distributed to parents, educators,

child care providers, and others in ormats they can use

in English and other languages. The ELGs will spell out

what children should know, understand, and be able to do

and provide solid underpinnings or all work with childrenrom birth to age fve. Best Beginnings received a multi-

year grant rom the Alaska Childrens Trust to develop ver-

sions o the amily-ocused materials in languages other

than English.

Best Beginnings is spearheading the Alaska Native Head

Start Literacy Project, based on the PBS childrens program

Between the Lions, and working with partners such as

television station WGBH Boston, the CIRI Foundation,

BP, the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, South-

central Foundation Head Start, Alaska State Library, the

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, the Institute

o Social and Economic Research (University o Alaska),

and the Alaska Head Start Collaboration Ofce. This pilotproject is now in the planning phase, with outcomes or

children anticipated to mirror those achieved in 11 tribal

Head Start programs in New Mexico. A study o Head Start

programs in New Mexico ound that as a result o partici-

pation, the number o children at risk or reading ailure

decreased rom 39 percent to 12 percent and the number

o children scoring above average increased rom 23 per-

cent to 64 percent.27

Best Beginnings has also launched a public engagement

campaign. Public service announcements are airing in An-

chorage and in other parts o the state on television and

the Alaska Public Radio Network. In 2007, Best Begin-

nings launched a Web site, with content or parents, edu-

cators, policymakers, and community members. The site

also includes links to other inormation on early literacy

and learning. Other activities are planned and will roll outin the next several months.

Evaluation

Work is underway on an evaluation plan.

Next Steps

Alaska plans to continue its work in early childhood. In

collaboration with Best Beginnings, the state expects to

prioritize the recommendations rom the Governors Sum-

mit on Early Learning and to work on an implementation

plan. In addition, work continues on the development

o Alaskas early learning system, incorporating both in-

home and away-rom-home opportunities or children.


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Arizona Early Education Funds

www.arizonaearlyeducationfunds.org

Background

The initiative known as Arizona Early Education Funds

(AEEF) is committed to ensuring all children in Arizona

start frst grade sae, healthy, and ready to succeed. AEEF

was created in January 2004 as part o the Governors

School Readiness Action Plan to build the capacity o lo-

cal communities to provide quality early childhood educa-

tion.28 The unds were established at the Arizona Com-

munity Foundation in partnership with the Community

Foundation or Southern Arizona and the United Way o

Tucson and Southern Arizona.

Governance

Arizona Early Education Funds are donor-advised unds

administered through the Arizona Community Founda-tion, a statewide 501(c)3 with our regional ofces dedi-

cated to connecting its donors interests with community

needs.29 AEEF has a 23-member advisory board and a

6-member executive committee representing a wide cross-

section o private and public entities.

Funding

Arizona Early Education Funds are partially endowed and

are partially spendable. To date, AEEF has raised more

than $4 million in private philanthropic donations.

Activities

AEEF has ocused primarily on developing a network o re-gional partnerships across the state, with unding or com-

munity assessment, capacity building, evaluation, leader-

ship development, and technical assistance. The frst AEEF

request or partnership (RFP) was released and unded in

2006. To assist applicants through this process, the Arizo-

na School Readiness Board hosted fve learning summits

throughout the state to talk about the boards action plan

and the RFP. Only partnerships represented at a summit

were eligible to apply.

Communities seeking unding were required to create

a local advisory board or steering committee to oversee

the implementation o activities and use o unds. These

boards typically represent a cross-section o the early care

and education and health communities; local government,

civic, and business leaders; and parents. Funding priori-

ty was granted to communities that included a diversity

o representation. The application process brought orth

an extensive array o partners, with representation rom

groups and individuals such as behavioral health provid-

ers, community action programs, early childhood educa-

tors, the aith community, grandparents, job training agen-

cies, the media, and public school administrators.30

The frst regional grant awards unded the establish-

ment o regional partnerships in six Arizona counties.

Grants ranged rom $25,000 to $100,000. Besides the grantunds to the counties, AEEF committed $200,000 in unds

to provide technical assistance to the regional partnerships

to help ensure their success as they develop. Communi-

ties with lower grant allocations received correspondingly

greater amounts o technical assistance.31

In addition to the six original partnerships unded

through AEEF, an additional two partnerships were con-

sequently unded directly by the Phelps Dodge Corpora-

tion. This brought the number o unded partnerships in

the state to eight.

As a result o a generous git rom the Ellis Center or

Education Excellence in late 2006, AEEF was able to re-

lease another RFP to the ununded partnerships in thestate to und their development and, thereore, ensure

partnerships in some stage o development in each o Ari-

zonas 15 counties.

In addition to its work with these regional partnerships,

another signature eort o the Arizona Early Education

Funds is the CHASE Early Education Emergent Leaders

program. This successul proessional development pro-

ArizonA


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37

gram helps early childhood practitioners enhance their

management and leadership skills, increases their op-

portunities to engage in leadership and proessional de-

velopment opportunities, and provides a orum or col-

laboration and networking. The program is made possible

through a generous git rom CHASE Bank. The program

builds the leadership, management, and advocacy skills o

those working in the feld o early childhood education.

The class o 2008 is unique because, or the frst time, it

is made up entirely o child care center directors repre-

senting private, nonproft, aith-based, and Head Start

programs. By investing in individuals in leadership posi-

tions who help set the culture or an entire program, the

CHASE Early Education Emergent Leaders program is able

to maximize its impact on teachers and children.

Evaluation

During the development o school readiness regional part-

nerships, technical assistance consultants and partnership

members continually assessed the progress o their devel-

oping and expanding partnerships. An online survey con-

ducted during the early stages o development sought to

determine how individuals elt about the quality o the

regional inormation meetings, AEEFs request or part-

ners process, and the initial technical assistance provided

to them. Ater six months, partnerships were surveyed

by telephone to learn about what was working and what

could be changed in the delivery o technical assistance,both with regard to the technical assistance consultants

and the statewide technical assistance meetings).

In early 2007, AEEF hired a special program consultant

to provide research and evaluation or the unded pro-

grams. A comprehensive evaluation o AEEFs technical

assistance or the regional partnerships, Uniting on Common

Ground, was published in December 2007. The report ex-

plores the qualities o the AEEF technical assistance con-

sultants, the partnerships experience with the technical

assistance, and opportunities or growth.

Next Steps

In November 2006, Arizona voters passed Proposition 203

or First Things First or Arizonas Children, a ballot initiative

that will help ensure all children arrive at school to succeed.

The estimated $150 million raised annually through a new

tobacco tax will augment existing programs and services

or young children in Arizona by unding early childhood

health and education programs with a ocus on improv-

ing quality and increasing access to high-quality programs.

These unds will be used to increase the quality and avail-

ability o early childhood programs through regional grants

tailored to the specifc needs and characteristics o the com-

munities the region serves, with a ocus on demonstrat-

ing improved outcomes. At least 90 percent o the money

collected will be earmarked or programs and services that

beneft young children directly, primarily through grants to

regional councils but also through selected statewide initia-

tives. The unds will be distributed through a new state-

wide board, the Early Childhood Development and Health

Board; the board aligns with the state board o education,

which oversees K12 education, and the board o regents,

which oversees the states universities.The regional council network that will be unded by

First Things First is building on relationships initiated and

lessons learned during the AEEF regional partnership

process, including the fndings in the technical assistance

evaluation report Uniting on Common Ground. The dedi-

cated public unding available through First Things First

will sustain the work at the local level that was initiated

through private unding. Because the requirements o the

First Things First councils are somewhat dierent rom

those o the AEEF regional partnerships, it will not be

possible or most o the partnerships to morph seamlessly

into the First Things First councils, but many individuals

who serve on the partnerships are applying to serve onthe councils. Many AEEF partnerships will also choose to

continue operations in partnership with their local First

Things First council.

OncethefundingthroughFirstThingsFirstisowing

to the regions, it is anticipated AEEF will no longer und

regional partnerships, at least not at this current level, and

will to turn to other priorities such as exploring new mod-

els and innovations. The Arizona Early Education Funds

advisory board will soon determine the scope o uture

grant-making activities as it assesses the gaps that are not

addressed through First Things First or other state or pri-

vate unding. The board is discussing whether to move to a

membership model where ewer donors would make sub-

stantial, multiyear commitments. The advisory board will

also work with First Things First to articulate AEEFs role

in coordinating philanthropic activities in Arizona around

early childhood education eorts.


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To read more about Connecticuts cabinet and council

structures, visit www.ecpolicycouncil.org

Background

In 2005, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell championed

legislation creating an Early Childhood Education Cabi-

net that was charged with developing a multiyear early

childhood investment plan. In 2006, the cabinet released

Ready by Five, Fine by Nine: Connecticuts Early Child-

hood Investment Framework, which prioritized 50 ac-

tion items into these top 10 investment priorities or Con-

necticut.

Quality Preschool

Ensurescalsupportforhigh-qualitypreschoolforall

three- and our-year-olds in amilies with incomes at or

below 185 percent o the ederal poverty level and in-

crease this income eligibility standard as state resourcespermit.

Addressstatereimbursementinequitiesforstate-fund-

ed, center-based preschool programs.

Developamultiyearearlychildhoodworkforceprofes-

sional development plan to ensure compliance with

state law and selected national certifcation programs.

Providehealth,mentalhealth,and education consul-

tation to preschool programs to enhance the skills o

directors and teachers in meeting the comprehensive

needs o children.

Developmental Success

Developacomprehensivestrategicplanforservingin-

ants and toddlers.

Expandeligibilitycategoriesin thebirth-to-threepro-

gram to include mild developmental delays and envi-

ronmental risks.

Ensure Healthcare for UninSured Kids and Youth

(HUSKY) children receive regular well-child visits and

an annual developmental assessment.

Provideallfamiliesandcaregivers,includingnoncus-

todial parents, with inormation on child development

(prenatal through age eight).

Early Elementary

Supportthedesignandimplementationofthekinder-

garten assessment.

Local Councils

Supportlocalcommunitiesindevelopingbirth-to-ve

councils or planning and monitoring early childhood

services.

In February 2006, Governor Rell issued an executive

order to create the Governors Early Childhood Researchand Policy Council, a 31-member panel led by public and

private leaders. The council specifcally includes represen-

tatives rom the business, philanthropic, workorce, and

economic development sectors; local government leader-

ship; and K20 educational leadership. It is co-chaired by

a leading businessman, a philanthropist, and the commis-

sioner o higher education. The Connecticut Economic

Resource Center stas the council, completing the con-

nection between the child development and economic de-

velopment sectors.

The council was charged with cost-modeling the 10 in-

vestment priorities o the state cabinets investment rame-

work. In just 82 days, the council prepared a fve-year,

ully transparent Early Childhood Investment Plan that

continues to provide guidance to both the executive and

legislative branches o government. Currently, the coun-

cil is rebasing the investment plan to take into account

progress in implementing preschool expansion eorts.

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Activities

Connecticuts early childhood initiative advances the use

o public-private partnerships to co-invest in community

planning and strengthen public accountability or results.

Co-Investing in Community Planning. Early in state fscal

year 200708, the Connecticut Early Childhood Education

Cabinet accepted an invitation rom the William Caspar

Graustein Memorial Fund to co-invest in helping Con-

necticut communities improve and expand their capac-

ity or strategic planning around the needs o their young

children and to promote parent leadership learning. A

two-year investment o state unds totaling $1.25 million

was leveraged by $800,000 in private philanthropy to help

communities develop birth-to-nine local strategic plans

anchored in a results-based accountability ramework andto expand their parent leadership development eorts.

More important than the money was the creation o

a ormal public-private memorandum o agreement, a

joint request or proposals, and a collaborative screening

and award process. To manage this new public-private

partnership, the Cabinet, Graustein Memorial Fund, and

state education department created a three-person collab-

orative management team. To provide or local technical

assistance and ongoing assessment o the initiative, the

Graustein Memorial Fund contracted or national techni-

cal assistance rom the Washington, D.C.-based Center or

the Study o Social Policy and unded a project manager

position. The goal o this work is to help communities de-

velop comprehensive local strategic plans that identiy the

needs o their children and amilies, use data to anchor

fscal requests, and begin to apply a results-based account-

ability ramework at the local level. As o April 2008, 26

communities were awarded strategic planning unds or

the state fscal years 2007 and 2008, and parent leadership

programs were unded across the state

Strengthen Public Accountability for Results. The execu-

tive order creating the Early Childhood Research and Policy

Council also established the councils responsibility to mon-

itor implementation o the investment plan. The council

will conduct an interim accountability study o the cabinets

eorts to address the 10 investment priorities during its frst30 months o operation as a coordinating and collaborative

management organization. The diverse perspectives o the

councils public-private membership will be a unique asset,

inorming the cabinets eorts to increase both its efciency

and eectiveness.

Next Steps

Connecticuts state and private-sector leaders continue to

explore avenues or urther collaboration. These may in-

clude new ormal structures or managing public-private

resources.


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The Early Childhood Investment Corporation

www.ecic4kids.org

Background32

Governor Jennier Granholms Great Start initiative was

announced in her 2003 State-o-the-State speech.33 The

purpose o the initiative is to ensure all children enter

kindergarten eager and ready or school success. The De-

partment o Human Services and an intermediate school

district (ISD) established the Early Childhood Investment

Corporation (ECIC) in February 2005 as a separate legal

entity through an interlocal agreement authorized under

MCL 124.501124.512. The ECIC has our main goals:

promoting knowledge development through early child-

hood research, conducting public education and building

public will, increasing pu

partnering education partnering with the privateand philanthropic sectorsa governor’s guide...

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