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Early Care & Education

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Featured Tools & Resources

Engaging Family Child Care Providers in Quality Improvement Systems

Archived Meeting Resources November 1, 2017

This brief, the fifth in the series, is a resource for local, regional, and state stakeholders invested in engaging FCC and family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers in quality improvement initiatives and supporting this sector of the early childhood professional community. This paper discusses outreach strategies and efforts to engage FCC and FFN providers, and highlights how considering these providers’ unique characteristics can positively influence their ability and willingness to participate in quality improvement efforts.

High Quality Early Learning Systems Building: State Approaches and Examples

Report November 1, 2017

First 5 Association of California unites all 58 First 5 county commissions around a common agenda and works to bolster programs surrounding family strengthening, early identification, oral health, quality early learning, and system sustainability. First 5 commissioned this research and report to understand how states have built and expanded early learning systems and to facilitate policy conversations with a policy committee to apply this learning to California. This document offers information on state approaches to early learning systems building, a compendium of state-level policies for early learning quality and access, and an analysis of current trends.

Intensive Family Engagement Logic Model

Archived Meeting Resources September 18, 2017

This resource describes Educare’s Intensive Family Engagement Logic Model, defining inputs, system- and program-level strategies, activities, short-term outcomes, intermediate family outcomes, and long-term child outcomes.

Good Food, Great Kids: Farm to ECE Case Studies

Case Study July 22, 2017

These case studies examine the growing movement to bring healthy and wholesome food to children ages 0 to five in settings that prepare them for school, highlighting best practices from service providers on the leading edge of this work. The cases consider how policy development and reform can be a great support to ensuring the health and early development of children in vulnerable and hard to reach communities. Case studies include examples from Minnesota, Washington, D.C., New York, Iowa, Missouri and Philadelphia.

Good Food, Great Kids: Making Practice and Policy Work for Farm to Early Childcare & Education

Report June 22, 2017

This policy research report highlights some of the most pressing challenges faced by farm to ECE programs, such as limited funding at the national and state levels to support these activities. It also highlights needs to have the space and resources to think more intentionally about equity, family engagement, the impact of policy realities on care providers, the need for bridge-building across sectors, and the need for more research about the impact of farm to ECE on child outcomes.

Farm to Early Care and Education: Working to Equalize Health and Education Outcomes

Blog June 22, 2017

Good nutrition and good educational outcomes for young children are inextricably linked. Yet, there is little consistency in terms of the quality of the food that is offered in early care settings. Given that approximately 60 percent of US children under the age of six spend time in some sort of childcare (or non-parental care) setting on a weekly basis, and typically eat breakfast and lunch (and possibly an afternoon snack) at these sites, ensuring the quality of the food is essential.