Child Care and Early Education at CLASP

Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and Their Families

A new joint report by CLASP and ZERO TO THREE - Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and Their Families – examines actions states have taken to build on Early Head Start. Less than 3 percent of babies and toddlers who are eligible for Early Head Start (EHS) - a federal program with promising results - are reached at current federal funding levels. CLASP and ZERO TO THREE found 20 states use mostly one of four main approaches:

• Extending the day or year of existing EHS services. 
• Expanding the capacity of existing EHS and Head Start programs to increase the number of children and pregnant women served.
• Providing resources and assistance to child care providers to help them deliver services meeting EHS standards. 
• Supporting partnerships between EHS and center-based and family child care providers to improve the quality of care. 

The paper also discusses opportunities and challenges facing state policymakers and provides recommendations for state leaders interested in promoting better futures for at-risk children through building on Early Head Start. Click to read state profiles of Iowa's and Kansas' EHS initiatives. Coming soon - profiles of the other 8 states interviewed in the paper. For more information on the federal EHS program, see Supporting Families, Nurturing Young Children: Early Head Start Programs in 2006.

ZERO TO THREE Policy Center hosted a webinar on Tuesday, April 22, with a presentation on the study as well as presentations by state policymakers in Iowa and Kansas about their EHS initiatives. All three presentations are currently available online, or click here to view a recording of the webinar.

Upcoming Webinar: How states are Building on the Promise of Early Head Start to expand access for babies and their families

Less than 3 percent of babies and toddlers who are eligible for Early Head Start (EHS) - a federal program with promising results - are reached at current federal funding levels.  Some states have stepped into the breach but more can be done.  The federal Early Head Start program was created to help minimize the disparities caused by poverty by supporting the healthy development of expectant mothers and low-income infants and toddlers in the context of their families and communities. 

A forthcoming joint report by CLASP and ZERO TO THREE - Building on the Promise: State Initiatives to Expand Access to Early Head Start for Young Children and their Families – finds a number of states using one of four main approaches:

• Extending the day or year of existing EHS services. 
• Expanding the capacity of existing EHS and Head Start programs to increase the number of children and pregnant women served.
• Providing resources and assistance to child care providers to help them deliver services meeting EHS standards. 
• Supporting partnerships between EHS and center-based and family child care providers to improve the quality of care. 

You can find out more about the study and hear from state policymakers in Iowa and Kansas about their initiatives in a webinar hosted by the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center on Tuesday, April 22, at 2:00 pm eastern (1:00 pm central, 12:00 pm mountain, and 11:00 am pacific).

Click here to register! 

States increase child care and early education appropriations

State appropriations for child care and early education programs increased over $1 billion from FY 2007 to 2008, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ first-ever survey of state child care and early education state appropriations. The survey asked state fiscal staff to report state appropriations in the areas of child care, pre-kindergarten, parent education/home visiting, and other early learning strategies.  The survey found increases in all four areas:

• Child care appropriations increased by over $672 million ($400 million of which was reported in California) with a total of 47 states reporting increased funding. NCSL notes that the increases in child care appropriations in actuality may not have outpaced the funding challenges that have daunted states for years. 
• Pre-kindergarten appropriations increased by nearly $510 million with a total of 30 reporting increased funding.
• Parent education appropriations increased by over $20 million with a total of 17 states reporting increased funding.
• Appropriations for other early learning, including Head Start/Early Head Start, infant and toddler initiatives, and early childhood mental health programs, increased by $26 million with a total of 19 states reporting increased funding.

Eight states—Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington—reported increased funding in all four areas.

While state pre-kindergarten programs have been increasingly popular in recent years, growing in popularity, size and funding, this survey shows that states are funding a wide range of early education programs vital for young children from birth to school entry and their families. In particular, increasing state appropriations for child care is ever important with stagnant federal funding in recent years.  CLASP's analysis shows that state child care spending (including federal and state funds) decreased in 2004 and in 2005, the most recent years data are available.  States can't do it alone; and federal funding should also demonstrate a recognition of the vital importance of early childhood programs that help families work and help children prepare for school and life.

Who's minding the kids?

The U.S. Census Bureau released detailed data tables on the child care participation of children under age 15 with working mothers. Data from the 2004 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) panel, show that in the spring of 2005, 72 percent of children under age 5 had a primary non-parental care arrangement. Relative care was the primary child care arrangement for 27 percent of young children. A quarter of all young children attended a center-based child care program, including a preschool or Head Start program, as their primary care arrangement. Eleven percent of children of working mothers had no regular child care arrangement. The data are broken down by age, income, race, and other variables. Key data points include:

• Young children in poor and low-income households are more likely to be in relative care.
• Young children whose mothers worked traditional daytime hours were more than twice as likely to be in family child care or center-based care compared to young children whose mothers worked non-daytime hours.
• The use of center-based child care is highest in the South where 30 percent of young children with working mothers attend centers.
• One-third (33 percent) of infants under a year old are in relative care compared to 28 percent of 1-2 year olds and 25 percent of 3-4 year olds.
• Over half (51 percent) of families with young children make child care payments. Poor families on average pay 29 percent of their household income on child care compared to 15 percent for low-income families (100-199 percent of poverty) and 6 percent for upper-income families.
• Half (50 percent) of children age 5 to 14 had no regular care arrangement outside of school or self-care.

Strong child care systems help working families and the economy

The Mississippi Economic Policy Center (MEPC) has released a new report titled Broadening the Base: Strengthening Mississippi's Working Families, Businesses and Economy through Strong Child Care Systems. MEPC highlights the importance of child care to the state's economy and to working families, yet investments in child care are insufficent. In Mississippi:

• The cost of infant child care for 9 months is more than a year of tuition at a state four-year college.
• More than 80,000 eligible children under age 13 receive no child care assistance.
• Child care providers who accept subsidized certificates receive 68% of the market rate for infant care - the most expensive care to provide.

As parents fight to keep their subsidies and providers struggle with low payment rates, MEPC makes several recommendations for strengthening child care to provide this critical work support to low-income working families.  Mississippi could increase its Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) dollars spent on child care; help child care workers increase their skills through the Workforce Investment Act; reward increases in skills, education, and quality through their Quality Step System; and increase the reimbursement rate, use Community Development Block Grant funds to help support investments in child care and make investments in child care facilities that serve low-income families.

The MEPC report makes clear that Mississippi has many opportunities to leverage funds to invest in child care and help support low-income working families.  Now the state has to find the will to fulfill this potential.

Utah increases quality infant and toddler child care

Using funds from the quality set-aside within the federal child care subsidy (CCDBG) program, Utah’s Office of Child Care (OCC) within the Department of Workforce Services is offering an Infant/Toddler Start-Up and Expansion Grant for Center-based Infant/Toddler Child Care Services. Centers may apply for grants up to $9,999 to create new quality infant/toddler rooms and to support staff development. OCC developed this grant project after its annual child care needs assessment identified infant/toddler child care as a critical, unmet need throughout Utah. Grantees must meet criteria on staff training and classroom environment, be evaluated using the ITERS-R rating system, and participate in Utah's ongoing quality improvement program for infant/toddler classes (the Baby Steps project). With this grant, Utah is demonstrating the importance of establishing state policies to both increase the availability of infant/toddler care and ensure that it meets high quality criteria at the same time.

No country for young children

On Sunday, January 27, The Washington Post featured a story on the economic opportunities and struggles of retirees and the aging baby boomers. The article focused on the need for new careers, additional education and training, and help in making transitions to second or third careers for this population.  Government policies that support adults as they age are an important component of our country’s social safety net, but, what about the children? While an agenda that looks at the career prospects for our oldest citizens is interesting—and gets a prime position in the Washington Post—it does raise the question of whether our youngest citizens are being supported with opportunities that ensure their future success.  Is this really a country for young children? Multiple indicators of child well-being suggest that it’s not.

Many children living in low-income households are at risk despite their parents’ best efforts to work and support their families. Over half of young children in low-income households have a parent who works full-time throughout the year and an additional 27 percent have a parent who works either part-time or for part of the year. We need public policies that help these families so that that their children have all that they need to thrive—help with health insurance, food security, quality early care and education and other supports. Read more.

Do babies rate in Quality Rating Systems?

Many states either have statewide systems to rate the quality of child care (14 states) or are exploring them (31 states), hoping to encourage providers to exceed state licensing standards and help parents find good care. But are the unique needs of babies and toddlers addressed in these systems? A new resource developed by the National Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative (NITCCI) provides suggestions for state policymakers to ensure an intentional focus on babies and toddlers in state quality rating systems. Only six of the 14 states who have implemented such systems have quality standards specific to babies and toddlers.

Designing Quality Rating Systems Inclusive of Babies and Toddlers recommends that states weave provisions specific to babies and toddlers through each of the five common elements of state quality rating systems: 1) standards, 2) accountability measures, 3) program and practitioner outreach and support, 4) financial incentives, and 5) parent/consumer education. For example, states should require training and education standards that ensure providers caring for children under three have a credential or coursework specifically addressing the knowledge and skills needed to care for babies, such as how to be responsive to babies’ cues, and safe sleep practices to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). They can also require better adult-child ratios and continuity of care practices in order for providers to receive higher ratings. NITCCI also recommends that standards are inclusive of all legally operating care systems, including family, friend and neighbor care, given that a significant proportion of babies and toddlers are in this type of care. Recommendations include providing training and mentoring, as well as quality enhancement contracts to providers that are linked to attaining higher standards.

Building the supply of high quality infant and toddler care, especially in low-income and high immigrant population areas, is one of the top recommendations CLASP makes for state policymakers to chart progress for babies in child care. The NITCCI tool can help states work toward this recommendation. The tool also points to the importance of including supports and financial incentives for providers and practitioners to meet higher standards encouraged by these systems. Quality rating systems are not likely to be effective without financial resources and supports to help child care providers, especially those caring for low-income children, move toward higher standards.

Supporting Families, Nurturing Young Children: Early Head Start Programs in 2006

CLASP's new policy brief analyzes the 2006 Program Information Reports (PIR) data for the Early Head Start program, which serves children under age 3 and pregnant women. In 2006, Early Head Start supported families with working parents from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds through a broad range of services, including medical, dental, and mental health services. Since 2004, more Early Head Start children and pregnant women received dental exams; more pregnant women had health insurance; and more pregnant women received mental health services. As in previous years, teacher education levels increased, but salaries remained stagnant. Also, more Early Head Start children are in informal care outside program hours.

Charting Progress Policy Framework Summary - Now Available!

CLASP’s Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project is a multi-year effort to highlight state policies that support the healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers in child care settings, and to build an online resource to help states implement these policies. In the first year of this project, CLASP worked with ZERO TO THREE to develop a Policy Framework, drawing on the input of over one hundred experts around the country. The Framework sets forth four key principles that establish the foundation of supports that all babies and toddlers in child care need, as well as 15 recommendations that state child care licensing, quality, and subsidy policies should address.

The Policy Framework Summary is now available online. Check back for future products, including research-based rationales supporting each recommendation, and a new section on this website that will present the full Framework with sets of policies that may help states move towards each recommendation. To learn more about the research base for this project, see: Supporting Growth and Development of Babies in Child Care: What Does the Research Say?

This work is supported by the Birth to Five Policy Alliance, the Irving Harris Foundation, the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and an Anonymous Donor.