Resource Library

This is the Program Guide for Head Start's 12th National Research Conference on Early Childhood – Collaboration and Coordination: Understanding Systems Supporting Young Children and Their Families...

This is the Addendum for Head Start's 12th National Research Conference on Early Childhood – Collaboration and Coordination: Understanding Systems Supporting Young Children and Their Families...

The majority of states are currently implementing, designing, or piloting a Quality Improvement and Rating System (QRIS). One key component of a QRIS is the way it assigns program ratings. However, there is a great deal of variability in the structure states use to determine a program’s rating level, with states using three primary structures. Block structures specify a set of quality standards at each level of quality. Before a program can move up to a higher level of quality...

The prevalence of child care changes is a noteworthy issue, and subsidies may assist low-income families in maintaining continuity of care. In this brief, authors review select Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) state policies, as of October 1, 2012, that have been, or may be, associated with exits from the subsidy program. The summaries provided may be used to contextualize research findings across states and to inform conversations about facilitating continuity in subsidized care among...

This research brief summarizes the state of the field on cultural competence in social services. The information is relevant for organizations serving children and families from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, but the brief highlights research and strategies in serving Hispanic populations. The brief describes cultural competence and provides service providers and administrators with concrete strategies for the ongoing self-reflection and development that is key to strengthening...

The grouping "Hispanic" often makes it challenging to observe important social experiences that relate strongly to the needs, service experiences, and outcomes of interest to ACF for various Hispanic subgroups. Existing federal surveys do not consistently collect data to sufficiently examine how Hispanic ethnicity interacts with other socio-cultural experiences or how it relates to specific outcomes. Because current measurement is inadequate to differentiate characteristics within...

This document describes a review of research on developmental screening tools designed for use with children from birth to age five. It provides detailed profiles for 16 commonly-used and/or publicly available developmental screening tools, as well as a set of summary tables providing an “at a glance” review of some common features across the tools. The compendium aims to translate technical psychometric information about the reliability and validity of the developmental...

What does recent research say about child care subsidies? This literature review summarizes recent research on topics related to child care subsidies with the intent to provide a foundation of empirical knowledge for state administrators, program developers, and policymakers as they choose among and implement subsidy policies. The three sections of the report include: descriptive information about subsidy use; a review of the literature addressing the association between subsidy receipt and...

Interest in the quality of provider-family relationships in early care and education (ECE) settings has sharpened the focus on defining and measuring elements of these relationships across settings for program improvement purposes.  In this brief, authors examine the alignment of research-based elements of family-provider partnerships with professional and performance standards from three national ECE organizations as well as selected professional competencies and Quality Rating and...

Many factors influence parents’ decision-making in their child care choices. This literature review provides an overview of empirical knowledge about the factors that influence parents’ decision-making in their child care choices. Findings from the literature are organized into four main sections reflecting empirical findings about: 1) parents’ child care decision-making processes, 2) parents’ preferences and priorities in selecting a care arrangement...