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Addressing Implicit Bias in the Early Childhood System

Tribal Policy Statement

December 21, 2016

The purpose of this U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy statement is to support early childhood programs1 and tribal communities2 by providing recommendations that promote the early development of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children, prenatal to age eight, who have been exposed to alcohol or substances during pregnancy, or who are affected by parent or caregiver substance misuse during early childhood.

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.

GAO Executive Summary

December 12, 2016

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.

GAO Report

December 12, 2016

This report discusses how congress required the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED), in consultation with all federal agencies, to identify "all early learning and care programs for children less than six years of age," provide specific recommendations for eliminating overlap and fragmentation among federal early learning and care programs, and make recommendations for streamlining all such programs. The Secretaries appreciate the opportunity to present an overview and analysis of the primary federal early learning programs and to offer recommendations on how to address the needs of children and families. This report also discusses the Administration’s efforts to maximize our current and future investments to increase the quality of and access to early learning for children from birth to kindergarten and how HHS and ED (the Departments) are fostering coordination and collaboration at the federal, state, and local levels to ensure a more effective, efficient, and high-quality system of early learning.

December 2016 ECD Newsletter

Point In Time Count

December 8, 2016

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.

ELCPI Assessment

December 5, 2016

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).

PDG Progress Report

November 30, 2016

Through the Preschool Development Grants (PDG) program, 18 states are expanding access to high-quality programs for 4-year-olds from low- to moderate-income families in over 230 high-need communities. Data from all grantees and subgrantees, as reported in the Annual Performance Reports (APRs) covering January 1 to December 31 of 2015, found that over 28,000 additional children benefited from high-quality preschool in their local communities because of these grants.

November 2016 ECD Newsletter