Engaging Parent and Provider Voice to Examine Equitable Access to Early Childhood Programs and Services
This session was presented during the BUILD 2021 National Conference.
Access to early childhood programs and services goes beyond just measuring the supply, or “open seats” for services in a community. In two briefs, Defining and Measuring Access to High-Quality Early Care and Education: A Guidebook for Policymakers and Researchers and Conceptualizing and Measuring Access to Early Care and Education, Child Trends has introduced and described the Access Framework, a family-centered, multi-dimensional definition of access. From a family-centered perspective, access means that early childhood programs and services are: 1) affordable; 2) meet parents’ needs; 3) support children’s development; and 4) require a reasonable amount of effort to find. Over the past year, Child Trends has been working with a cohort of seven state and community grantees of the Pritzker’s Children’s Initiative to apply the four dimensions of the Access Framework to evaluate access to a variety of programs including: early care and education programs, coordinated intake and referral, home visiting, child welfare, and other programs and services for young children. This cohort is especially working toward developing programs and services that provide equitable access to families from all racial and ethnic backgrounds by applying the Access Framework to consider the access experiences of families from different racial and ethnic groups. In this session we will provide an overview of the four dimensions of the Access Framework, provide examples of how this framework is being used to guide an assessment of equitable access to child care in New Jersey and other states and communities across the nation. We will offer key questions you can use to assess equitable access for specified groups of children and families in your state or community.
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About BUILD
Report February 1, 2023
The BUILD Initiative is a national effort that advances state work on behalf of young children (prenatal through five), their families, and communities. BUILD staff partner with early childhood state leaders focused on early learning, health and nutrition, mental health, child welfare, and family support and engagement to create the policies, infrastructure, and cross-sector connections necessary for quality and equity. BUILD provides consultation, planning, and tailored implementation assistance, learning opportunities, resources, and cross-state peer exchanges. These efforts help state leaders improve and expand access to quality and promote equitable outcomes for our youngest children.
Family Voice Matters: The Importance of Effective Parent Coalitions
Blog January 31, 2023
BUILD recently interviewed five parent leaders about their experience in parent coalitions. In addition to reminding us of the need to address implicit bias on behalf of all families and children, they provided their thoughts on ways to ensure the coalitions fulfill their purpose and best meet the needs of families, and whether there’s room for improvement in the way they function. Here’s what they told us.
Incorporating Montessori Programs in State Quality Improvement Systems Webinar Resources
Archived Meeting Resources January 31, 2023
States are making significant advancements in their quality improvement systems (QIS) as they look for solutions to widen the aperture and fully embrace a mixed-delivery system that will best serve children, families, and the early care and education workforce. To achieve this, QIS policies need to become more flexible and create different pathways to quality, including a variety of established, high-quality delivery models. In this session participants heard how Montessori programs are working with state leaders from Illinois, Michigan, and Washington to be part of the QIS.