State Systems Building Through Governance
This resource is the first chapter of BUILD's E-Book - Rising to the Challenge: Building Effective Systems for Young Children and Families. The E-Book shares learnings from the initial implementation of the Early Learning Challenge, the major federal funding initiative, launched in 2011, supporting states in developing high quality early childhood systems, especially targeted to children with high needs. This chapter explores state governance in the context of the Early Learning Challenges mission to improve school readiness supports and outcomes for young children.
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Career Pathways
Report November 15, 2023
This brief focuses on the ways that states are using PDG B-5 grant funding to create and sustain career pathways in the early care and education field. “Career pathways” are broadly defined here, referring to a wide range of activities that support prospective and current early educators in advancing in the profession. States’ initiatives span an early educator’s complete career trajectory, from strategies to recruit new candidates into the profession to initiatives that create new specializations for educators who want to propel their careers further.
Financing Highlights
Report November 1, 2023
PDG B-5 Planning and Renewal Grants are being used by states across a wide range of content areas in the early childhood care and education system, and in a variety of ways. The federal funding provides a systems framework and seeks to offer flexibility within that framework. States are using the federal funding to build capacity, create infrastructure, provide direct services, and pilot work that is new for them. This work is occurring within a broad framework provided by the federal government. This brief explores the choices that PDG B-5 grantees plan for the use of the financing provided, which has impact on the overall ECCE systems that they are building and implementing. Within PDG B-5, states had to demonstrate how they would allocate the financial resources available across required and discretionary activity categories. We can learn about their priorities from a look at the choices that they made.
Thriving Families Safer Children (TFCS) Family Voice Summary
Report October 16, 2023
The Children’s Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Casey Family Programs, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Prevent Child Abuse America have joined with parents, youth, and community organizations in their new initiative, Thriving Families, Safer Children: A National Commitment to Well-Being. The goal of the Thriving Families, Safer Children (TFSC) partnership, which spans the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, is to assist jurisdictions in creating a more just and equitable child and family well-being system that benefits all children and families and breaks harmful intergenerational cycles of trauma and poverty. Minnesota was selected in January 2021 as one of the jurisdictions to receive technical assistance through this initiative.