Resource Library

HRSA-ACF Letter to State MIECHV Grantees

In the last quarter of 2013, homeless shelters across Massachusetts were overwhelmed by an influx of young families. Public agency managers from the Departments of Early Education and Care (EEC), Public Health (DPH) and Housing and Community Development (DHCD) mobilized together to help shelters manage, and to reduce the impact on children from instability, trauma and high-stress. Agency managers pooled financial resources from an infusion of Race To the Top funding and in-tervened to help shelter staff communicate and lead in ways that benefited young children and their families in the short-term, and contributed to children’s positive outcomes over the long-term.

This executive summary details how a large body of research demonstrates that high-quality early learning experiences – healthy and safe environments, nurturing relationships with program staff, developmentally appropriate and rich curricula, and supportive services that foster learning and development – are critical to setting a strong foundation for children’s success in school and life. Children in high-quality programs, especially children from low-income families, show greater readiness for school and development of skills needed for lifelong success. Affordable, high-quality early learning programs make it more likely that families will be able to work. Economists have found that high-quality early learning programs have a high return for the public investment, with savings resulting from improved educational outcomes, fewer placements in special education, increased labor productivity, and reduced criminal activity.

December 2016 ECD Newsletter

The Point-in-Time (PIT) count is an annual count of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in the last 10 days in January. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires its Continuum of Care (CoC) grantees to conduct an annual count of sheltered homeless persons. CoCs also must conduct a count of unsheltered homeless persons every other year (odd numbered years). Each count is planned, coordinated, and carried out locally by service providers and trained volunteers.While many CoCs complete their count of unsheltered persons on the night designated for the count, given the additional challenges associated with counting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, some CoCs conduct their unsheltered count over the seven days following the night of the count. This "post-night" approach may be particularly useful for counting unsheltered families and youth with young children.

This report explores how career pathways can offer an effective approach to address some of these challenges and support the current and evolving landscape of the ECE sector and its most disadvantaged professionals. Comprehensive and flexible education and training programs can make it easier for individuals to acquire industry-recognized credentials and higher education degrees to advance on a career trajectory. Effective career pathways approaches can also better serve workers that may experience significant barriers to education and employment advancement (i.e., low-skilled adults, and adults with limited English proficiency).

November 2016 ECD Newsletter

This document summarizes the Federal policy recommendations released in December 2014, and provides an update (from the original Federal expulsion and suspension prevention resource guide released in April 2016) on the innovative policies and workforce supports adopted by States and local leaders around the country who are leading the way by proactively addressing expulsion and suspension in early childhood settings. Though no State or community highlighted here considers its work finished, they are taking important steps forward to address the issue and have a series of planned next steps they intend to pursue. Their innovative ideas and valuable lessons learned can support and guide localities similarly alarmed by- and committed to addressing- this issue.

Tennessee Wage Profile

New Jersey Wage Profile