Resource Library

Recent federal, state, and local policies and initiatives focus on increasing access to high-quality ECE for all families. Given the prevalence and potential importance of these initiatives for families and children, it is useful for the field to take stock of how access to ECE is conceptualized and measured and to understand the extent to which context, purposes, and available indicators shape the assessment of access.

This report describes the ways in which individual characteristics and factors at the program and system levels are associated with individual teachers’ and caregivers’ participation in PD in a nationally representative sample of ECE teachers and caregivers.

Much like the 7.8 million families with young children in urban areas, many of the 1.1 million families with young children in rural areas need and use early care and education (ECE). Families across the United States face challenges accessing child care, and challenges often vary by population density. Although the definition of what constitutes an urban, suburban, and rural area differs across studies, the literature suggests that...

The experience of homelessness is a known risk factor for young children’s development and well-being. High-quality early care and education may help children overcome some of the negative factors associated with homelessness. However, states, communities and early care and education providers face many barriers to ensuring access to care for these young children, including challenges with identifying children who are or are at risk of experiencing homelessness...

Researchers and policymakers in the early care and education (ECE) field are interested in understanding the factors that contribute to successful quality improvement (QI) initiatives in ECE settings. They also want to learn about factors leading to improved outcomes for children and families through successful QI initiatives. One factor posited to influence the success of such initiatives is the readiness of individuals and organizations to adopt new quality improvement practices.

States and territories have increasingly worked to strengthen their early care and education (ECE) systems to more efficiently and effectively serve young children. It can still be challenging, however, to coordinate ECE systems’ multifaceted funding streams, services, standards, and regulations.This report summarizes publicly available information about the coordination or inclusion of Head Start across various aspects of state and territory ECE systems. 

These snapshots describe U.S. households’ costs for, and usage of, ECE in 2012, looking at differences by age of child, household income, and community urbanicity.

Defining and monitoring early care and education (ECE) program engagement in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) are essential tasks that can inform implementation and improvement efforts. Accurate data about the types of ECE programs that are rated, where they are located, and who they serve can shape outreach and recruitment efforts. The term engagement is used as a broad term in this brief to encompass varying...

While many efforts to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) have focused on increasing teachers’ and caregivers’ competencies and knowledge specific to the teaching of young children, a small body of research suggests that an ECE workforce that is mentally healthy can provide the best-quality care for children.

What does “curriculum” mean when applied to working with infants and toddlers?

This brief discusses the meaning of the term when applied to early education and care programs serving families with infants and toddlers. The discussion focuses on how programs can incorporate and use the concepts of a curriculum in a way that is developmentally appropriate for infants and toddlers...