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RESOURCES TO HELP STATES

MEET THE EARLY LEARNING CHALLENGE

A. Successful State Systems

(A)(3) Aligning and coordinating early learning and development across the State (10 points)

Building an Early Learning System: The ABCs of Planning and Governance Structures, Charles Bruner, Michelle Stover Wright, Barbara Gebhard and Susan Hibbard, State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network and the BUILD Initiative, 2004. This paper defines an early learning system – including early learning and support for child health, family strength, and community connection. It shares important “rules of thumb” for creating the state planning and governance structures to build it.

Building Ready States: A Governor’s Guide to Supporting Comprehensive, High-Quality Early Childhood State Systems, National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Rachel Demma, 2010. This report by the NGA Center offers six policy strategies governors can use to build and nurture a comprehensive, high-quality early childhood system.

Building Comprehensive State Systems for Vulnerable Babies, CLASP, 2011. CLASP has developed this resource to help state leaders strategize how to create or improve early childhood systems to meet the needs of vulnerable babies and toddlers, their families, and pregnant women. Every state has the pieces of a comprehensive early childhood system in place. This tool will help state leaders locate and build them into a system that meets the needs of children and families.

Early Care and Education Systems That Support Quality Care for Babies and Toddlers: Key Elements,

National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2004, http://nitcci.nccic.acf.hhs.gov. This paper presents

an overview of key early care and education system elements and their characteristics that reflect how

such a system can offer quality child care to infants, toddlers and their families.

Infants and Toddlers in the Policy Picture: A Self-Assessment Checklist for States, Barbara Gebhard,

ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, 2009, www.zerotothree.org/policy. This self-assessment provides questions

to spark discussion about the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families and to lay the foundation for

building an effective state early childhood development system. The checklist is based on research about

effective practices in states, and is organized around the key areas known to impact healthy development

for infants and toddlers: good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences.

Maximizing the Impact of Early Childhood Home Visitation Programs, National Governors’ Association, Amanda Szekely, 2001. This issue brief provides governors’ offices with strategies to maximize the impact of early childhood home visitation programs by promoting coordinated planning and shared accountability across the agencies that fund these programs, developing research based quality standards, and improving data linkages to track outcomes and better target services.

Planning for Success: Mapping Goals, Services and Outcomes for Program Improvement, The Ounce of

Prevention Fund, 2006, www.ounceofprevention.org/news/publications.php. The brief provides

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information on what a logic model is, the key elements of a logic model, how to develop a logic model or

refine an existing model, and how the model can be used to continually improve program services.

Putting the Pieces Together for Infants and Toddlers: Comprehensive, Coordinated Systems, Barbara

Gebhard, ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, 2009, www.zerotothree.org/policy. This policy brief outlines

the need for a comprehensive, coordinated early childhood system. It discusses the necessary components

– high-quality, affordable early care and education, health and mental health, and family support services

– that such a system needs as well as the infrastructure that supports them. The brief also offers policy

recommendations for those working at the federal, state and local levels of government.

State Issues and Innovations in Creating Integrated Early Learning and Development Systems - A

Follow-Up to Early Childhood 2010: Innovations for the Next Generation. Rachel Schumacher, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Education, 2011. This report

describes key issues states are dealing with as they develop integrated early learning and development

systems as a follow up to discussions held during the Early Childhood 2010 meeting in Washington, DC.

The six issues are: coordinated state governance, effective use of data, systemic quality improvement,

partnerships with families and communities, health and behavioral health integration, and addressing

the needs of children with multiple risks. For each topic, the paper provides background research, many

examples of innovative state policies, and contact information.

Strengthening Families as a Platform for Collaboration, Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2011,

www.strengtheningfamilies.net . A brief description on the how the Strengthening Families approach

and Protective Factors Framework can be a powerful tool for helping multiple agencies and partners join

together as an effective system to achieve outcomes for children and families.

Systems and Policy Changes that Support Strengthening Families, Center for the Study of Social Policy

resources webpage. This webpage offers resources, guidance and tools for using Strengthening Families

as a platform for cross-agency collaboration among early care and education, child welfare, and home

visiting, and outlines the three key “levers for change” that support broad adoption of the Strengthening

Families approach: parent partnerships, policy and systems, and professional development.

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems as the Framework for Early Care and Education System

Reform, 2009. This brief, written by Anne Mitchell for the BUILD Initiative, describes how QRIS to be the

unifying framework for an early care and education system that includes providers from all sectors and

all funding streams.

(A)(4) Developing a budget to implement and sustain the work of this grant (15 points)

Aligning Finance with Common Standards, Louise Stoney, Alliance for Early Childhood Finance, 2010. These graphics show how finance can be linked to the quality levels of a QRIS and then layered to fund a single child or classroom of children. This resource may be found at www.earlychildhoodfinance.org.

Audio Conference: Braiding Funding Streams to Support Integrated Service Delivery, Abigail Newcomer, Donna Taglianetti, Yesenia Cervantes and Susan Gewirtz, CLASP, 2011. Due to low wages, lack of benefits, and inconsistent employment, many workers are unable to meet their own and their

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families' basic needs through employment alone. In order to use public funding to support an integrated approach and to account for the different needs and demographic characteristics of participants, organizations must braid sources together. CLASP has recently produced Federal Funding for Integrated Service Delivery, a Toolkit. This audio conference oriented listeners to the resource, and highlighted two organizations that braid public and private funding sources to support integrated service delivery approaches.

Federal Funding and Young Children: Directions, Opportunities and Challenges to States in Building Early Childhood Systems, Charles Bruner, The BUILD Initiative, 2009. 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 to support young children’s growth and development including the areas of early learning, family support, health, special needs and planning and coordination. Federal Funding and Young Children, Part Two: Securing Funding Flexibility to Improve Children’s Healthy Development, Charles Bruner, The BUILD Initiative, 2009. The BUILD Initiative’s second brief on Federal Funding addresses state leaders’ age-old challenge of effectively blending and braiding funds and resources from various sources with disparate expectations, requirements and limitations. The resource summarizes the key challenges of effective use of federal funding and poses three potential remedies to ease the barriers and to better allow states to provide integrated, effective services for families and young children, especially those who utilize/need multiple services.

Financing a Birth to Five Program: The Appleton Area School District Model, Hannah Matthews, CLASP, 2011. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, also known as No Child Left Behind or NCLB) funds long have been used to provide preschool services for at-risk children. This paper focuses on the Appleton Area School District (AASD) in Appleton, Wisconsin and their efforts to use Title I funds to finance a comprehensive birth-five program.

Financing Early Childhood Care and Education Systems: A Standards-Based Approach (2006). This

paper, written in 2004 by Anne Mitchell and Louise Stoney for the James A Baker III Institute for Public

Policy, discusses why early childhood finance reform is rooted in standards, and describes a standards-

based approach to financing the ECE system. The paper was revised and included in a book, edited by

Alvin Tarlov, entitled “Nurturing the National Treasure.”

Foundations: How States Can Plan & Fund Programs for Babies & Toddlers, The Ounce of Prevention

Fund, 2006, www.ounceofprevention.org/news/publications.php. This publication explores what babies

and toddlers need to thrive and take advantage of preschool, and offers strategies for states to plan and

structure funding for programs for babies and toddlers.

Improving the Lives of Young Children: Meeting Parents' Health and Mental Health Needs through

Medicaid and CHIP So Children Can Thrive, Olivia Golden and Karina Fortuny, The Urban Institute, 2010.

Many young children have developmental or behavioral problems that could be addressed or prevented

with the right early response but that are not identified or treated, compromising children's ability to

perform up to their potential in school and leading to more costly interventions later. Because the

quality of parenting is so critical to children's development, parental or family difficulties-including

maternal depression-can endanger children’s development. Yet, parents often do not receive needed

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medical or mental health care. This brief discusses state Medicaid and CHIP choices that can enhance

delivery of medical, mental health, and related services to parents.

Inspiring Innovation: Creative State Financing Structures for Infant-Toddler Services, Julie Cohen,

Barbara Gebhard, Ann Kirwan and Brandy Jones Lawrence, ZERO TO THREE Policy Center and Ounce of

Prevention Fund, 2009, www.zerotothree.org/policy.This joint paper highlights the work of four states—

Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma—that have developed innovative financing structures to support

services for at-risk infants and toddlers. It reveals key policy elements that cut across all four states, as

well as strategic decisions and recommendations critical to the establishment of financing structures

that support high-quality programs for infants and toddlers.

Lessons from Cost Modeling: The Link Between ECE Business Management and Program Quality (2010) Anne Mitchell and Louise Stoney. This brief highlights key principals that have emerged from the Alliance cost modeling work.

Presentation: Leveraging Existing funding Streams to Support EHS-like Services, Christine Johnson-Staub, CLASP, 2011. This presentation, given at the April 2011 ZERO TO THREE state action team meeting in Portland, Oregon, describes opportunities and considerations for states that are exploring using a variety of federal funding streams to finance comprehensive services for infants and toddlers.

Quality Rating and Improvement System Financial Incentives Updated November 2008 Written by

Anne W. Mitchell, Kristen Kerr and Juana Armenta – Early Childhood Policy Research The information in

this table was collected in spring and fall 2008 from publicly available information on websites and in

publications. Share Service Overview, This webpage provides a brief overview of the shared services

approach and why it benefits ECE programs, families, funders and government.

Shared Services: A New Business Model to Support Scale and Sustainability in Early Care and Education, by Louise Stoney; policy brief prepared for Early Learning Ventures, October 2009

Shared Services: A Powerful Strategy to Support Sustainability of ECE Businesses, by Louise Stoney;

Exchange, September/October 2009

The Iron Triangle: A Simple Formula for Financial Policy in ECE Programs (2010). This brief, written by

Louise Stoney, describes a simple formula to help ECE programs stay on track financially.

What State Leaders Should Know About Early Head Start, Elizabeth Hoffmann and Danielle Ewen,

CLASP, 2011. Early Head Start (EHS) is a federally-funded, community-based program that provides

comprehensive child and family development services to low-income pregnant women and families with

children under the age of 3. This paper reviews 11 key aspects of how the EHS program works and

includes considerations for state leaders. The paper is meant to serve as an introduction to the program

for state policymakers, not to provide official guidance or interpretation of the laws and regulations

governing EHS.

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B. High Quality, Accountable Programs

(B)(1) Developing and adopting a common, statewide Tiered Quality Rating and

Improvement System (10 points)

Characteristics of Quality Early Learning Environments, The Ounce of Prevention Fund. First-rate early learning programs that are safe, healthy, stimulating, organized, and, most importantly, led by well-trained teachers, help children enter school ready to learn and succeed. This resource outlines what you do and do not want to see in programs.

Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment: Compendium of Quality Rating Systems and

Evaluations , Child Trends, April 2010. This Compendium produced for the Office of Planning, Research

and Evaluation profiles QRS in 26 states and local areas and provides an analytic framework for

assessing the critical elements of QRS and QRS evaluations.

Designing Quality Rating and Improvement Systems Inclusive of Infants and Toddlers, National Infant

& Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2009. This paper offers suggestions for the inclusion of quality indicators

for infants and toddlers within Quality Rating and Improvement Systems being implemented in states,

tribes, and territories to establish a means to promote quality in child care settings. These rating

systems typically include five common elements: standards, accountability measures, program and

practitioner outreach and support, financial incentives, and parent/consumer education.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes several resources that can inform state leaders developing a QRIS.

NAEYC Early Childhood Program Accreditation Standards and Criteria NAEYC Quality Rating and Improvement System Toolkit Compilation of QRIS Resources

QRIS and P-3: Creating Synergy Across Systems to Close Achievement Gaps and Improve Opportunities

for Young Children, Kristie Kauerz and Abby Thorman, The BUILD Initiative, 2011. This brief summarizes

two policy strategies for improving young children's learning and development which have largely

operated independently from one another: quality rating and improvement systems and P-3 alignment.

The authors make recommendations as to how both early learning reform efforts can be individually

strengthened as well as how they can be aligned with one another to build a stronger and more

comprehensive system of care for children that facilitates alignment between the two reform efforts.

Quality Dosage, Thresholds, and Features in Early Childhood Settings: A Review of the Literature, Child

Trends, August 2010. This literature review prepared for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation

describes the current state of the evidence on how different aspects of quality (dosage, thresholds and

features) are related to children’s developmental outcomes.

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems as the Framework for Early Care and Education System

Reform, Anne Mitchell, The BUILD Initiative, 2009. This brief focuses on the potential of state Quality

Rating and Improvement Systems to be a framework for reform and unify the early care and education

sections into a coherent early care and education system including a rationale for entering this process

and some specific steps states might take to create a comprehensive QRIS.

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Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for a Multi-Ethnic Society, Charles Bruner, Aisha Ray,

Michelle Stover Wright and Abby Copeman, The BUIILD Initiative, 2009. This brief provides guidance as

states consider culturally and linguistically responsive programming as a valued measure of quality in

their Quality Rating and Improvement Systems. The brief addresses areas such as: 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.

Parents and Child Care Providers in Partnership: Planting SEEDS for Success, Early Childhood Initiative

Learning Community, National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds, Washington, 2011.

http://www.ctfalliance.org/collaborativeprojects.htm. This resource provides an overview and

process of a March 2011 meeting convened in Washington State. Through the efforts of the

Washington Council for Children and Families, the Washington Department of Early Learning partnered

with the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Preventions Funds to invite a group of 16 parents to

meet for two days with the expressed purpose of seeking parents’ authentic voices about what they

desire for their children in a high quality child care setting. This publication documents the process of

that meeting with photographs, graphic recordings of the three Café Conversations and a penetrating

look at concrete ways that parents recognize quality when they see it. The Washington State

Department of Early Learning is using the results of these conversations to help inform elements of their

new Quality Rating and Improvement System – SEEDS for Success.

Seizing the Potential: Quality Infant-Toddler Child Care, Julie Cohen and Erica Lurie-Hurvitz, ZERO TO

THREE Policy Center, 2009. This policy brief on quality infant-toddler child care offers recommendations

and outlines research demonstrating the importance of high quality relationships between child care

providers and the young children for whom they care. Quality child care promotes children’s cognitive,

language, and social and emotional development and contributes to later school success. The strongest

effects of quality child care are found with at-risk children.

State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS): Inclusion of Infant/Toddler Quality Indicators,

National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2010.This document summarizes state Quality Rating

and Improvement Systems (QRIS) with infant/toddler quality indicators, and highlights where each of

the state QRIS systems stand in terms of requirements for professional development, learning

environment and curriculum, ratios and group sizes, family involvement, administrative policies, and

program evaluation. It also provides examples of specific wording for infant/toddler criteria.

State Child Care Licensing and Promoting Infant and Toddler Nutrition & Movement in Child Care,

National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2011. This fact sheet provides an overview of standards

for promoting health in child care in Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance

Standards for Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs (CFOC), revised in

2010 by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and National

Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. It provides key

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recommendations in CFOC, discusses available state licensing data (including the District of Columbia

but not available for the territories), and highlights where more research is needed.

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS): Inclusion of Infant/Toddler Quality Indicators,

National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2011. This fact sheet highlights Quality Rating and

Improvement Systems (QRIS), which define standards for incremental levels of quality across a range of

categories, and establish systems for rating and improving quality child care for all children. The National

Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative reviewed 24 QRIS to identify states that explicitly include

infant/toddler (I/T) quality indicators. The fact sheet provides examples of QRIS that include specific I/T

indicators to promote discussions as states, territories and tribes begin to develop, revise, and

implement QRIS for quality I/T care.

(B)(2) Promoting Participation in the State’s Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System

(15 points)

A Tool to Examine State Child Care Subsidy Policies and Promote Stable, Quality Care for Low-Income

Babies and Toddlers, Rachel Schumacher, CLASP, 2009. This tool is designed to provide a policy

framework that lays out ideas for increasing access for low-income babies and toddlers to high quality

child care settings through state child care subsidy systems.

Build Supply of Quality Care, Rachel Schumacher and Elizabeth Hoffmann, CLASP, 2008. Charting

Progress for Babies in Child Care recommendation: Build the supply of high-quality child care settings for

all babies and toddlers, with a special focus on underserved communities-including those in low-income,

rural, and/or immigrant and language-minority communities.

Ensuring Quality Care for Low-Income Babies, Hannah Matthews and Rachel Schumacher, CLASP, 2008.

The supply of high-quality infant and toddler child care is limited, particularly for low-income families.

While most states provide child care assistance through vouchers or certificates, states have the option

of contracting directly with providers to expand infant/toddler care for low-income families. Based on

interviews with state policymakers, this paper explains how states are using contracts to create or

stabilize care in particular communities or for specific populations; to create child care slots meeting

quality standards important for infants and toddlers; to extend the day for infants and toddlers served in

Early Head Start; and to improve the quality of infant/toddler family child care.

Quality Rating and Improvement System Financial Incentives, Anne W. Mitchell, Kristen Kerr and Juana

Armenta, Alliance for Early Childhood Finance, 2008. This Table includes a compilation of information

summarizing a range of financial incentives used to support QRIS, from publicly available sources

including websites and other publications.

(B)(3) Rating and monitoring Early Learning and Development Programs (15 points)

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Expand Monitoring and Technical Assistance, Teresa Lim and Hannah Matthews, CLASP, 2010,.This

resource provides research, recommendations, and state examples to support CLASP’s Charting Progress

for Babies in Child Care project recommendation: Conduct routine monitoring of infant and toddler child

care in centers and family child care settings at least twice a year, provide technical assistance to help

providers with licensing compliance, and use information on provider compliance to inform parents and

ensure ongoing improvements in monitoring systems and child care quality.

(B)(4) Promoting access to high-quality Early Learning and Development Programs for

Children with High Needs (20 points)

Closing the Achievement Gap in Academic Performance, The Ounce of Prevention Fund, 2009. This

publication explains the achievement gap and provides examples of programs and advocacy strategies

that the Ounce has implemented to improve school readiness.

(B)(5) Validating the effectiveness of State Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

(15 points)

Coaching in Early Care and Education Programs and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS):

Identifying Promising Features, Tabitha Isner, Kathryn Tout, Martha Zaslow, Meg Soli, Katie Quinn,

Laura Rothenberg and Mary Burkhauser, Child Trends, 2011. The purpose of this report is to synthesize

findings from a review of the literature and a multi-case study of coaching in Quality Rating and

Improvement Systems (QRIS) to understand more about the practice of coaching and whether features

of coaching can be identified that are linked to positive outcomes for practitioners and children.

Conclusions drawn from the synthesis can be used to generate recommendations for further

specification of coaching models in theory and in practice.

Coaching for Quality Improvement: Lessons Learned from Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

(QRIS), Kathryn Tout, Tabitha Isner, Martha Zaslow, Child Trends, 2011. This Research Brief summarizes

a recent report synthesizing findings from a literature review and a multi-case study of coaching in

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to understand more about the practice of coaching and

whether features of coaching can be identified that are linked to positive outcomes for practitioners and

children. The Research Brief concludes with an overview of implications for QRIS policy and practice.

Issues for the Next Decade of Child Care Quality Rating Systems, Child Trends, May 2009. This Issue

Brief draws on a review of the literature on QRSs, as well as the proceedings of three meetings

convened by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in collaboration with other federal

partners in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The meetings brought together

researchers, federal agency staff, representatives from state QRS and other quality initiatives, and a

variety of stakeholders from national organizations to discuss issues related to the measurement of

quality and evaluation of quality initiatives. This brief describes key themes from the meetings, and then

concludes with a description of follow-up steps OPRE is taking in collaboration with partners to address

the issues raised.

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Minnesota Parent Aware Quality Rating and Improvement System Pilot, Child Trends, November 2010.

This report is the third to be produced from the Evaluation of Parent Aware being conducted by Child

Trends and funded by the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF). It covers the third year of

Minnesota’s pilot QRIS from July, 2009 through August, 2010 and provides an in-depth analysis of the

measurement tools and rating process used in Parent Aware, changes in quality among Parent Aware-

rated programs, parents’ perceptions of quality and knowledge of Parent Aware, and the school

readiness of children participating in Parent Aware-rated programs. The previous evaluation reports

focused on early implementation of the Parent Aware pilot (see Tout, Starr & Cleveland, 2009; Tout,

Starr, Isner, Cleveland, Soli & Quinn, 2010).

Missouri: The Quality Rating System and Infant/Toddler Responsive Caregiving Checklist, CLASP, 2010.

The Missouri Quality Rating System (MO QRS) is a voluntary system that seeks to address infants and

toddlers both in terms of the design of the system and in the content on which child care quality is

measured. The MO QRS was developed in part to align with the state's early learning standards and core

competencies for early childhood professionals. Certain specific measures have been included to

address infant/toddler care. This state example is part of CLASP's Charting Progress for Babies in Child

Care project.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes several resources that can inform state leaders considering how to validate the effectiveness of a QRIS.

Compilation of resources relating to Early Childhood Data QRIS Research and Evaluation

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems for Early Care and Education, Child Trends, May 2010. This short brief provides an accessible overview of current research on QRIS, including research on the effectiveness in some states.

Strengthening Families: Using the On-Line Self-Assessment to Improve Practice. This one-pager

describes the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s online suite of data tools designed to help programs

deepen Strengthening Families implementation, keep track of their work, and evaluate its impact on

parents and staff. For administrators working with multiple programs within a state or a locality the

online tools can provide aggregate data to target technical assistance and support and assess the impact

of Strengthening Families across programs.

C. Promoting Early Learning and Development Outcomes for Children

(C)(1) Developing and using statewide, high-quality Early Learning and Development Standards

A Review of School Readiness Practices in the States: Early Learning Guidelines and Assessments, Child

Trends, June 2010. Research on the importance of the early childhood years has compelled states to

support children’s school readiness. This brief provides an overview of state practices related to the

development and implementation of Early Learning Guidelines (ELGs) and school readiness assessments.

The appendix provides a 50 state profile of state ELGs and school readiness assessment practices.

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A Window to the World: Early Language and Literacy Development, Jaclyn Kupcha-Szrom, ZERO TO

THREE Policy Center, 2011. This policy brief on early language and literacy articulates recommendations

and outlines research on the important role parents and early childhood professionals play in the brain

development that occurs during the first three years of life, which includes fostering a child’s early

language and literacy skills. Literacy is part of a process that begins at birth as babies learn to

communicate and begin to acquire language. When this development is not nurtured, children begin to

fall behind and a gap in language and literacy emerges.

Crafting Early Learning Standard for a Multi-Ethnic Society: Lessons Learned from Washington and

Alaska, Hedy Nai-Lin Chang , The BUILD Initiative. This policy brief describes the early learning standards

development experiences in Washington and Alaska so that other states can learn from and build upon

their pioneering efforts to address language and cultural issues in the development of guiding

frameworks and expectations for how young children grow and acquire knowledge.

Infant/Toddler Early Learning Guidelines Fact Sheet, National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative,

2011. This fact sheet is designed to document the ways states and territories represent infants and

toddlers in Early Learning Guidelines (ELG). ELG or standards describe expectations about what children

should know and do across multiple domains of learning during specific age ranges. Currently, 37 states,

3 territories and the District of Columbia implement ELG that describe outcomes for infants and toddlers.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes several position statements regarding appropriate practice and standards that can inform state leaders developing Early Learning and Development standards.

NAEYC position statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement on Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment

and Program Evaluation NAEYC and NCTM position on Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good Beginnings NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement on Early Learning Standards NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement on Early Learning Standards Self-Assessment

and Planning Tool NAEYC and IRA position statement on Learning to Read and Write NAEYC position statement on School Readiness

Putting Standards into Practice: States’ Use of Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers,

Barbara Gebhard, ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, 2010. This paper draws upon interviews with

representatives of eight states on implementation and alignment of their Early Learning Guidelines (ELG)

for infants and toddlers. The paper summarizes the status of guidelines in states and offers suggestions

related to training on the ELG and embedding them into professional development and quality

improvement systems. It provides examples on aligning the ELG for I/T both vertically, with guidelines

for older children, and horizontally, within the infant-toddler system

The Language of Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers: Connecting Research to Practice, The Ounce of

Prevention Fund, 2007. Even before a child learns to speak, the amount and quality of the language she

hears has an important impact on her developing communication skills. Sadly, for many children,

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particularly those facing multiple risk factors including poverty, their home and primary care

environments are not structured to maximize language and literacy development. We now know from

research that there is a strong association between the 'language gap' children display in the early years

and the eventual achievement gap they exhibit in school.

(C)(2) Supporting effective uses of Comprehensive Assessment Systems

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes several position statements that can inform state leaders in decision-making on effective uses of Comprehensive Assessment Systems.

DEC Companion Paper – Promoting Positive Outcomes for Children with Disabilities: Recommendations for Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation

NAEYC position statement on Developmentally Appropriate Practice NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement on Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and

Program Evaluation NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement Supplement on Screening and Assessment of

Young English-Language Learners

(C)(3) Identifying and addressing the health, behavioral, and developmental needs of Children

with High Needs to improve school readiness.

Building Strong Systems of Support for Young Children’s Mental Health: Key Strategies and a Planning

Tool, NCCP, 2011.This report describes key strategies for creating a comprehensive system of supports

for young children’s mental health and provides examples from states using these strategies. It also

includes a tool that state planners can use to assess progress and plan steps toward building a strong

system of early childhood mental health supports.

CLASP DataFinder. CLASP DataFinder is a custom, easy-to-use tool developed to provide select

demographic information as well as administrative data on programs that affect low-income people and

families. Users can create and download custom tables that present a national picture, a state picture or

a comparative look at states and communities. The DataFinder currently includes state and national data

on: child care assistance spending and participation; Head Start and Early Head Start participation;

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) expenditures; young child demographics; and poverty.

Improving Care Coordination and Service Linkages to Support Healthy Child Development: Early

Lessons and Recommendations from a Five-State Consortium, Carrie Hanlon and Jill Rosenthal,

National Academy for State Health Policy, 2011. This report summarizes early findings from the current

Assuring Better Child Health and Development (ABCD III) learning collaborative of five states. Arkansas,

Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Oregon are testing models to strengthen linkages and care

coordination between pediatric primary care providers and community-based providers of early

intervention, mental health, public health, and early care and education services. The states’ early

experiences piloting communication tools, facilitating data sharing, implementing quality improvement

processes, and involving families are relevant for efforts to engage multi-sector stakeholders to improve

state policy, primary care practice, and population health.

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Making Hope a Reality – Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, Lynn Jones,

ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, 2009, www.zerotothree.org/policy. This policy brief on early intervention

services for infants and toddlers with disabilities provides background on Part C of the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act and how these services can promote the best developmental outcomes for

children. For children at significant risk, coordinated and carefully designed early intervention services

and family supports can serve as a protective buffer against the multiple adverse influences that may

hinder their developmental progress.

Many Missing Pieces: A Frank Discussion about Early Childhood Data and State Longitudinal Data

Systems, Danielle Ewen, CLASP, 2010. On Oct. 1, 2010, Danielle Ewen spoke at this New America

Foundation's panel. Ms. Ewen discussed issues surrounding the expansion of education data systems

that span a child's educational experience from early childhood up through higher education and the

start of their careers.

NAEYC’s position statement on School Readiness provides research and recommendations relevant to identifying and addressing child health, behavioral, and developmental issues. Promoting the Social-emotional Wellbeing of Infants and Toddlers in Early Intervention Programs Promising Strategies in Four Communities, NCCP, 2010. This brief examines exemplary policies and practices that highlight the potential of the Part C Early Intervention Program to play a major role in reducing the risk of long-term social-emotional and behavioral difficulties of vulnerable children.

Snapshots: Incorporating Comprehensive Developmental Screening into Programs and Services for

Young Children, Carey McCann and Karen Yarbrough, The Ounce of Prevention Fund, 2006.

Comprehensive developmental screening is a process to identify children who may have or may be at

risk of a developmental delay or disability and need further evaluation. It is not an achievement test, but

a series of snapshots of a child’s development across all domains – language, cognitive, physical, motor,

sensory, and social-emotional. This publication describes key best practice elements for a process of

screening and explores different methods for implementing developmental screening in a variety of

programs and services for very young children, including child care, home visiting, and several health

care settings.

State Strategies for Care Coordination, Case Management, and Linkages for Young Children: A Scan of

State Medicaid. Title V, And Part C Agencies, Kitty Purington, National Academy for State Health Policy,

2009. NASHP conducted this scan of states in order to better identify and understand what states are

doing through variously funded early child health and development agencies to promote better care

coordination, case management, and linkages to services for young children. The scan was designed to

elicit strategies used by the three state agencies to improve healthcare and community linkages in three

areas: within primary care practices; between primary care practices and other child and family service

providers; and through systems or statewide strategies. This paper describes state models that may help

policy makers become more aware of the potential resources and tools available to promote healthy

development for young children and can provide states with strategies to more effectively coordinate

resources and achieve better outcomes for their children.

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States Connect Vulnerable Children in Child Care to Early and Periodic Screening, Christine Johnson-

Staub, CLASP, 2011. Preventive health and developmental screening for children, especially those most

at risk, is a priority for federal policymakers, as evidenced by requirements for Early and Periodic

Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) in Medicaid and regular developmental screenings in Head

Start and Early Head Start. Still, many children do not receive regular screening, either because their

families experience barriers to health care, or because their medical providers do not consistently

provide the recommended services. This brief “in focus” outlines state efforts to connect vulnerable

children in child care to early and periodic screening.

State Child Care Licensing and Promoting Infant and Toddler Nutrition & Movement in Child Care,

National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2011. This fact sheet provides an overview of standards

for promoting health in child care in Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance

Standards for Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs (CFOC), revised in

2010 by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and National

Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. It provides key

recommendations in CFOC, discusses available state licensing data (including the District of Columbia

but not available for the territories), and highlights where more research is needed.

The Affordable Care Act and Children with Special Health Care Needs, Kathleen Farrell, Catherine Hess,

Diane Justice, The National Academy for State Health Policy, 2011. The Affordable Care Act (ACA)

provides states with some important tools that can be utilized to provide more continuous, adequate

and affordable coverage for children with special health care needs (CSHCN). How the law is interpreted

and whether implementation challenges are addressed with the unique needs of CSHCN in mind will shape

how well the ACA fulfills its promise to this vulnerable population. This paper developed by the National

Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) for the Catalyst Center at Boston University reviews and analyzes

key provisions of the ACA relevant for CSHCN and provides suggestions for state policymakers.

(C)(4) Engaging and supporting families

Changing Practice in Programs, Center for the Study of Social Policy resource website. This web page

has information, resources and tools related to the Strengthening Families program strategies, implementation

guidebook, self-assessment and on-line suite of program data tools, and exemplary program profiles.

Home Visitation: Assessing Progress, Managing Expectations, Deborah Daro, PhD, The Ounce of

Prevention Fund and Chapin Hall Center for Children, 2006. In this publication, Dr. Deborah Daro

reviews the evolution of home visiting programs, research evaluating such programs, and suggests

strategies to move the field forward.

Improving Supports for Parents of Young Children: State-level Initiatives, NCCP, 2010. This issue brief presents: highlights from research that links parenting to child outcomes; questions to guide decisions about programs that could address different families’ needs in a state or territory; efforts by four states to establish specific goals related to parenting supports and to make progress toward achieving those goals; and recommendations for state-level work in this area that reflect current research and states’ experience.

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Key Components of a Successful Early Childhood Home Visitation System: A Self-Assessment Tool for

States, Lisa Schreiber, ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, 2010. This tool helps states define the home

visiting system, assess the home visiting system's capacity, and prioritize areas for improvement. A

growing body of evidence demonstrates that home visitation can be an effective method of delivering

family support and child development services. As opportunities to grow home visiting programs come

up, such as the new federal home visiting program, collaborative home visiting state systems provide

the infrastructure to support high quality assessment, programming and model fidelity.

Building and Sustaining Effective Parent Partnerships: Stages of Relationship Development, National

Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds, 2009. This document, written for state Children’s

Trust and Prevention Funds but applicable to any agency or collaborative table, offers lessons, strategies

and perspectives on creating powerful partnerships with parents to support positive outcomes for

children and families.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes several resources that can inform state leaders developing policies and practices to engage families.

Engaging Diverse Families NAEYC position statements on Responding to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity NAEYC’s Quality Benchmarks for Cultural Competence Tool

Parents and Child Care Providers in Partnership: Planting SEEDS for Success, Early Childhood Initiative

Learning Community, National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds, Washington, 2011.

http://www.ctfalliance.org/collaborativeprojects.htm. This resource provides an overview and

process of a March 2011 meeting convened in Washington State. Through the efforts of the

Washington Council for Children and Families, the Washington Department of Early Learning partnered

with the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Preventions Funds to invite a group of 16 parents to

meet for two days with the expressed purpose of seeking parents’ authentic voices about what they

desire for their children in a high quality child care setting. This publication documents the process of

that meeting with photographs, graphic recordings of the three Café Conversations and a penetrating

look at concrete ways that parents recognize quality when they see it. The Washington State

Department of Early Learning is using the results of these conversations to help inform elements of their

new Quality Rating and Improvement System – SEEDS for Success.

Strengthening Families: Creating Parent and Community Partnerships, Center for the Study of Social

Policy resource webpage.

Ten Policies to Improve Access to Quality Child Care for Children in Immigrant Families, Hannah Matthews, CLASP, 2009. Part of CLASP's "Reinvesting in Child Care" series, this paper presents ten policies for state policymakers to implement with economic recovery funds to improve access to quality child care for children in immigrant families.

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D. A Great Early Childhood Education Workforce

(D)(1) Developing Workforce Knowledge and Competencies and a progression of credentials

Credentials for the Infant/Toddler Child Care Workforce: A Technical Assistance Tool for Child Care and

Development Fund Administrators, National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2010. This report

provides a guide to states and territories planning to develop or implement a system for formally

recognizing the specialized knowledge and skill sets needed by infant/toddler caregivers. There is an

increased availability of infant/toddler coursework and training and recognition of professional

achievements of infant/toddler caregivers through credentials, certificates, certification, or

endorsements. This guide includes examples and insights from existing state programs.

Establish Core Competencies, Rachel Schumacher, CLASP, 2010. This resource provides research, recommendations, and state examples to support CLASP’s Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project recommendation: Establish a core body of knowledge, skills, and expertise that providers and caregivers need in order to give babies and toddlers quality care, based on current research on social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development.

Infant/Toddler Credential Fact Sheet, National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2010. This fact

sheet provides an overview of the infant/toddler credential (ITC), defined as any combination of

requirements that, when considered together, translate to formal recognition of individuals who work

with infants and toddlers in child care programs. The document describes the components and

requirements of the ITC, which is offered in 21 states.

Keys to High-Quality Child Care for Infants and Toddlers: Core Knowledge and Competencies for

Infants and Toddlers, National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2010. This fact sheet focuses on

the core knowledge and competencies (CKC), which define the content (knowledge) and skills

(competencies) that adults working with young children need to support individualized learning

experiences and development. As CKCs are components of a broader professional development system

in most states and territories, this fact sheet describes common elements found in the CKCs of 36 States,

including age ranges, core knowledge categories, competency levels, and special considerations for

children with special needs and cultural diversity.

(D)(2) Supporting Early Childhood Educators in improving their knowledge, skills, and abilities

A Tool to Assess the Alignment of State Professional Development and QRIS Systems, Afterschool

Investments Project and National Child Care Information Center, 2010. This self-assessment tool is

intended to help leaders consider the alignment across system elements. It can be used to develop a

common understanding of the mission and goals among leaders, and to identify gaps and opportunities

to strengthen both professional development systems and QRIS.

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A Guide to Effective Consultation with Settings Serving Infants, Toddlers, and their Families: Core

Knowledge, Competencies, and Dispositions, National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2011. This

collaborative document defines the core knowledge, competencies, and dispositions (CKC) for

consultants working with early care and education programs and settings serving infants, toddlers, and

their families. Improving the quality of infant/toddler early care and education is the overarching

outcome of this guide, as research supports child care consultation as an effective method to improve

program quality and facilitate family involvement.

Building an Early Childhood Professional Development System, Demma, Rachel, National Governors Association, 2010. This brief provides information for governors on building a statewide system of professional development for all program staff and personnel who work with young children.

Coaching in Early Care and Education Programs and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS):

Identifying Promising Features, Tabitha Isner, Kathryn Tout, Martha Zaslow, Meg Soli, Katie Quinn,

Laura Rothenberg and Mary Burkhauser, Child Trends, 2011. The purpose of this report is to synthesize

findings from a review of the literature and a multi-case study of coaching in Quality Rating and

Improvement Systems (QRIS) to understand more about the practice of coaching and whether features

of coaching can be identified that are linked to positive outcomes for practitioners and children.

Conclusions drawn from the synthesis can be used to generate recommendations for further

specification of coaching models in theory and in practice.

Coaching for Quality Improvement: Lessons Learned from Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

(QRIS), Kathryn Tout, Tabitha Isner, Martha Zaslow, Child Trends, 2011. This Research Brief summarizes

a recent report synthesizing findings from a literature review and a multi-case study of coaching in

Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to understand more about the practice of coaching and

whether features of coaching can be identified that are linked to positive outcomes for practitioners and

children. The Research Brief concludes with an overview of implications for QRIS policy and practice.

Cross-site Evaluation of the Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Program

U.S. Department of Education Report, August 2010. The Early Childhood Educator Professional

Development Program (ECEPD) is a federal discretionary program that provides grants to partnerships

focused on providing professional development activities to early childhood educators working in low-

income communities. This brief examined 18 ECEPD projects funded in 2003, 2004, and 2005.

Developing a Statewide Network of Infant and Toddler Specialists: Technical Assistance Manual for

States and Territories, National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2011. This manual describes the

process of developing and implementing an Infant Toddler Specialist Network using six state examples.

High-Quality Child Care Requires Highly Qualified and Compensated Providers, Teresa Lim, CLASP,

2010. Child care providers are central to the provision of high-quality care. Young children need

providers who are nurturing and responsive. Moreover, as the young child population becomes

increasingly diverse, there is a growing need for linguistically- and culturally-competent providers. While

there is little dispute over the importance of providers’ roles in shaping children's early experiences,

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there is much to address about the adequacy of professional development support and compensation

that is available for the child care workforce.

Infant/Toddler Specialist Networks Fact Sheet, National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, 2011.

This fact sheet provides background on Infant/Toddler Specialist Networks (ITSN), a promising strategy

that states and territories have implemented to improve the quality of child care and support healthy

development of infants and toddlers. I/T Specialists provide support to the I/T field through a variety of

approaches, including mentoring, consultation, training, and technical assistance. The document

includes a map showing which states have ITSN and describes each State’s approach.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes several resources that can inform state leaders developing in supporting Early Educators in improving their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

NAEYC Commission on Early Childhood Associate Degree Accreditation NAEYC and NACCRRA’s Early Childhood Education Professional Development: Training

and Technical Assistance Glossary NAEYC’s Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative NAEYC’s Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative Database of State Policies NAEYC position statements on Early Childhood Teacher Certification NAEYC Standards for Professional Preparation Standards

Provide Access to Training, Education, and Ongoing Supports, Rachel Schumacher, CLASP, 2009. This

resource provides research, recommendations, and state examples to support CLASP’s Charting Progress

for Babies in Child Care project recommendation: Ensure access to specialized professional

development for providers working with infants and toddlers, including participation in higher education

programs, community-level training, ongoing individualized consultations, and access to appropriate

information and supports for caregivers, so that those who care for infants and toddlers in all settings

understand and implement a core body of knowledge and skills.

Selected State and Local Policies to Support Immigrant and Limited English Proficient (LEP) Early Care and Education Providers, Daniellle Ewen and Hannah Matthews, CLASP, 2007. One way to increase the supply of qualified, bilingual and culturally competent early care and education providers is to assist providers from immigrant communities to gain the skills to become licensed child care providers, as well as to provide supports to immigrant providers in order to retain them in the early childhood field and to encourage further professionalization and credentialing. CLASP has created a checklist of selected policies that support immigrant providers, particularly those with limited English proficiency. This tool offers strategies and examples for improving policies in the areas of language access, training and professional development.

Support a Diverse and Culturally Competent Workforce, Hannah Matthews, CLASP, 2010. This resource

provides research, recommendations, and state examples to support CLASP’s Charting Progress for

Babies in Child Care project recommendation: Ensure the diversity and cultural competence of infant

and toddler providers and caregivers in order to meet the needs of the state's children under three and

their families.

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Toward a Bright Future for our Youngest Children – Building a Strong Infant-Toddler Workforce,

Barbara Gebhard, Susan Ochshorn and Lynn Jones, ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, 2010. This policy brief

provides an overview of research on the role early childhood professionals play in responding to the

needs of infants and toddlers to ensure healthy children, strong families, and positive early learning

experiences. Recommendations are provided on the importance of federal and state policymakers

supporting cross-sector workforce initiatives and investing in comprehensive, integrated early childhood

professional development systems to ensure that our youngest children and their families have the

opportunity to reach their potential.

Toward the Identification of Features of Effective Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators , U.S. Department of Education Literature Review, August 2010. This review incorporates findings from research on four targets of early childhood professional development: 1) strengthening human or social capital; 2) strengthening practices at institutions or organizations providing professional development; 3) strengthening early educator practices related to specific child outcomes; and, 4) strengthening overall quality in classroom or group settings.

Using Professional Development as a Lever for Change, Center for the Study of Social Policy resource

webpage, The Center for Study of Social Policy. This webpage highlights a new Strengthening Families

on-line training curriculum, developed by the National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds,

and offers guidance for states on creating a professional development approach that will support

implementation of Strengthening Families.

E. Measuring Outcomes and Progress

(E)(1) Understanding the status of children’s learning and development at kindergarten entry

Measuring Children’s School Readiness: Options for Developing State Baselines and Benchmarks, Charles Bruner with Abby Copeman, State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance, 2003. This document outlines thinking and work in the field when developing baselines and benchmarks for measuring a child's school readiness and options for states in developing such systems.

A New Beginning: The Illinois Kindergarten Individual Development Survey, The Ounce of Prevention

Fund, Erikson Institute and Advance Illinois, 2011. The Kindergarten Readiness Stakeholder Committee,

convened by the Illinois State Board of Education, produced this report for creating a statewide,

research-based kindergarten assessment process.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes several position statements regarding that can inform state leaders decision-making on understanding the status of children’s learning and development at kindergarten entry (Also, forthcoming: an NAEYC brief for state policymakers on kindergarten entry/readiness assessments).

NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement on Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation

NAEYC’s position statement on School Readiness NAEYC and NAECS/SDE position statement on Still Unacceptable Trends in Kindergarten

Entry and Placement

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(E)(2) Building or enhancing an early learning data system to improve instruction, practices,

services, and policies

Building Public Early Childhood Data Systems for a Multi-Ethnic Society: Issues and Opportunities,

Charles Bruner and Betty Emarita, The BUILD Initiative, 2009. This resource provides states guidance for

considering an increasingly multi-ethnic and diverse early childhood population when developing plans

for a state data system. It provides support for states to recognize and value the diversity of their young

child population and provide the information needed to address current and professional gaps in

readiness, participation, cultural awareness and recognition, workforce diversity, and stakeholder

participation. This issue brief provides concrete strategies for states to undertake to assure that data

systems collect the information needed to close the achievement gap.

The 10 Fundamentals of Coordinated Early Childhood Education State Data Systems. The Early

Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC) supports state policymakers’ development and use of coordinated

state early care and education (ECE) data systems to improve the quality of ECE programs and the

workforce, increase access to high-quality ECE programs, and ultimately improve child outcomes. The

ECDC provides tools and resources to encourage state policy change and provide a national forum to

support the development and use of coordinated state ECE data systems. Go to www.ecedata.org for

the 10 ECE Fundamentals of coordinated data systems, and state specific information on whether your

state systems include the 10 Fundamentals.

Learning to Read: Developing 0-8 Information Systems to Improve Third Grade Reading Proficiency,

Charles Bruner, the Child and Family Policy Center, 2010. This resource provides an analysis of the state

of the field in developing birth-to-eight data systems to inform policy. The guide provides an overview

of the resources and best practices available to states and communities to gather and use information

about children 0-8 in fashioning early childhood strategies which ultimately can achieve the goal that

children are proficient in reading by the end of third grade.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website includes resources that

can inform state leaders efforts to build comprehensive data systems.

Presentation: Integrating Professional Development Within a Comprehensive Data

System, Sarah Lemoine, NAEYC

Resources compiled on Early Childhood Data Opportunities to Incorporate Young Child Data into Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems through the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funding, Charles Bruner with Michelle Stover Wright,

The BUILD Initiative, 2009. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided $250 million to the

Institute of Education Sciences within the United States Department of Education to carry out Section

208 of the Education Technical Assistance Act. The Secretary of Education was authorized “to award

grants, on a competitive basis, to state educational agencies to design, develop, and implement

statewide, longitudinal data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate, and

use individual student data, consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.” This

resource provided information related to this funding source as well as ways for states to think about

gathering support for a P-16 State Longitudinal Data System.

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Putting Early Childhood in State Data Systems, Hannah Matthews, CLASP, 2009. States are making

progress on creating longitudinal data systems that allow for tracking individual student achievement

and data use as a tool to foster continuous improvement in educational systems. To date, most of these

systems focus on K-12 education and incorporate little early childhood data. Yet, policy and funding

opportunities exist to move early childhood data systems forward.