emerging state and community strategies to improve infant and toddler services
TRANSCRIPT
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Emerging State and CommunityStrategies to Improve Infant and
Toddler ServicesBy Rachel Herzfeldt-Kamprath and Katie Hamm June 2015
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Emerging State andCommunity Strategiesto Improve Infant andToddler Services
By Rachel Herzfeldt-Kamprath and Katie Hamm June 2015
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1 Introduction and summary
3 Background
6 Promising strategies to improve access and
provide continuity
8 Financing infant and toddler programs
16 Targeting infant and toddler services
22 Assuring continuity for infants and toddlers
26 Federal policy can support infant and toddler alignmen
30 Conclusion
32 Appendix: Federal funding sources for infant and
toddler services
38 Endnotes
Contents
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1 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Introduction and summary
Decades o research on brain developmen and oucomes rom early learning
inervenions have clearly demonsraed ha children hrive when hey have
consisen access o high-qualiy early childhood programs saring a birh or
even beore and coninuing unil hey ener kindergaren. Ye oo ofen, programs
ha arge young children provide services in isolaion, are underunded, and ail
o mee he needs o all eligible amilies. Creaing a coninuum o services ha are
inenionally aligned o reach children or as long as possible can help ensure ha
early childhood services and programs effecively suppor all aspecs o youngchildren’s healhy developmen.
Saes and communiies are increasingly recognizing he imporance o creaing
a coordinaed sysem o services ha suppors all aspecs o inan and oddler
developmen rom birh o age 5. Since young children’s developmenal needs are
uniquely inerwined, i is criical ha inans and oddlers have access o qualiy
healh care, nuriious ood, and simulaing and sae environmens in order o
achieve posiive oucomes laer in lie. ereore, programs across he specrum o
public services or young children and heir amilies mus be readily accessible or
all who need hem. While many saes and communiies offer a variey o services
o suppor young children and heir amilies, significan barriers keep many ami-
lies rom accessing he resources hey need.
e curren mix o programs and services ha provide early care and educaional
opporuniies or inans and oddlers are underunded across he counry, and
many amilies who qualiy are unable o access he services ha hey need. When
programs are underunded, geting he righ services o he righ amilies can
become a significan challenge. Similarly, where services are provided, hey are
ofen offered in isolaion. For example, amilies who receive benefis hrough heSpecial Supplemenal Nuriion Program or Women, Inans, and Children, or
WIChe ederally unded healh and nuriion program or women and heir
childrenmay no know ha hey also qualiy or home visiing services, mean-
ing ha hese amilies miss ou on an imporan opporuniy.
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2 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Forunaely, saes and communiies across he counry are implemening effors
o beter coordinae heir inan and oddler services o suppor healhy develop-
men and successul ransiions rom one program or educaion seting o anoher
during early childhood. ese effors can be suppored urher by ederal policy
acions o incen and ensure ha low-income children and amilies receive he
suppor ha hey need o hrive.
Communiies across he counry are working o align inan and oddler services
by increasing access o available programs and resources, creaing cenralized
inake sysems, and argeing inervenions o specific populaions. Similarly, saes
are developing saewide plans o deliver a coninuum o suppor or children
rom birh o age 3 and ideniying sandards and developmenal guidelines or
programs ha serve young children.
As saes and communiies coninue o make progress o reach more inans and
oddlers hroughou he firs hree years o lie, ederal policy should suppor hem by increasing invesmens and providing long-erm and coninuous unding; mak-
ing unding sources more flexible o suppor service alignmen effors; coninuing
o build momenum or privae-secor invesmens; providing guidance or weav-
ing ogeher disparae unding; sreamlining gran applicaions and reporing;
and iniiaing a permanen cross-agency office a he ederal level ha would ocus
specifically on inans and oddlers.
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3 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Background
Enriching environmens and nururing relaionships promoe healhy child
developmen and can se young children on he pah o posiive oucomes laer
in lie. Research shows ha healhy brain developmen, especially in he firs
hree years o a child’s lie, is criical or producing posiive oucomes over his or
her lieime.1 Ye many amilies are no able o provide he enriching conex ha
young children need o hrive, meaning ha some children sar ou a a disadvan-
age. e direc negaive effecs o povery creae a significan gap in healh and
developmen oucomes beween children living in povery and heir wealhy peerseven beore hey begin school.2 As early as 18 monhs o age, children rom lower-
income households are developmenally behind children rom higher-income
households in early language developmen and processing skills.3
FIGURE 1
Poverty rates for U.S. children between birth and age 3
Percent of infants and toddlers living in extreme poverty, poverty, and low-income
households, 2013
Below 50 percentof the poverty line
Below 100 percent
of the poverty line
Below 200 percent
of the poverty line
46%
23%
11%
Source: Authors' calculations based on data from Bureau of the Census, Community Population Survey (U.S. Department of Commerce,2014), available at http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html.
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4 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
According o daa rom he Bureau o he Census, in 2013, nearly hal o inans
and oddlers in he Unied Saes lived in low-income households. More han one
in five inans and oddlers lived in households wih incomes below he ederal
povery linewhich defines povery as $24,250 or a amily o our in 2015and
more han 1 in 10 lived in deep povery, or below 50 percen o he povery line.
(see Figure 1) e povery raes are disproporionaely high or children o color, wih 45 percen o Arican American, 48 percen o American Indian/Alaska
Naive, and 35 percen o Hispanic children younger han age 3 living in povery.
By comparison, only 15 percen o whie inans and oddlers live in povery.4
e increasing diversiy o he counry’s child populaion underscores he need
or policymakers o address hese inequaliies. For he firs ime in U.S. recorded
hisory, he cohor o children born in 2011 was majoriy children o color.5 is
demographic rend has coninued, and he U.S. inan and oddler populaion is
projeced o become even more diverse, wih children rom Hispanic and mulira-
cial backgrounds expeced o increase he ases over ime. (see Figure 2) Addingo his rend, nearly one in every our children younger han age 3 comes rom a
household where one or more paren is oreign born, and abou one-hird o chil-
dren rom immigran amilies are in households below he povery line.6
2012
White alone Black alone Other
Nonwhite and
white Hispanic
Asian aloneTwo or
more races
2015
2020
2030
2060
FIGURE 2
The infant and toddler population is projected to become more
diverse over time
Racial/ethnic distribution of the child population younger than age 3, 2012 projections
Source: Authors' calculations based on data from Bureau of the Census, 2012 National Population Projections:Downloadable Files (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012), available a t http://www.census.gov/population/projections/-
data/national/2012/downloadablefiles.html.
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5 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Because children rom diverse and immigran backgrounds are disproporionaely
more likely o live in households experiencing povery, he inersecing rends o
child povery and changing demographicsespecially among he inan and od-
dler age groupsmean ha a growing proporion o he American populaion may
be growing up in households ha lack he resources needed o suppor healhy
child developmen. Children living in households below he povery line are morelikely o have healh problems, ace ood insecuriy, grow up in unsae neighbor-
hoods, and have parens who repor being sressed by parening.7 All o hese ac-
ors can conribue o he oxic sress ha inhibis healhy brain developmen.8
In order o ensure ha inans and oddlersespecially hose a risk o growing
up in poveryare able o hrive as aduls, policy soluions mus suppor devel-
opmen and acively address he growing dispariies in child oucomes. Many
programs exis o address developmenal needs, bu hey are ofen underunded,
ail o mee demand, and can be inconsisen in heir qualiy or amilies in need.
ese ypes o inconsisencies during he pivoal years o a child’s developmencan lead o school readiness and suden achievemen gaps laer in lie.
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6 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Promising strategies to improve
access and provide continuity
is repor considers wo iner-relaed problems acing saes and communi-
ies rying o improve services or inans and oddlers: financing and providing
coninuiy during he firs hree years o lie. Funding is a major barrier o expand-
ing services or inans and oddlers. In general, services or inans and oddlers
are underdeveloped and underunded compared wih programs or preschool-age
children and especially compared wih older children in K-12 educaion. For
example, Early Head Sar is he gold sandard or high-qualiy programming
or inans and oddlers, bu he program serves less han 4 percen o eligiblechildren.9 Likewise, he evidence-based Maernal, Inan, and Early Childhood
Home Visiing, or MIECHV, program is so minimally unded ha only one-hird
o high-need U.S. counies receive is ederally unded services.10 Programs ha
reach larger populaionssuch as WIC, which serves more han 4 million young
children annuallyhave no been well inegraed hisorically wih early care and
educaion programs.11
e second issue addressed by his repor is he lack o coninuiy o services
or inans and oddlers. Given he inerdependency o a child’s developmenal
needs during he firs hree years o lie, effors o ensure ha young children
have coninuous access o healh care, amily services, child care, adequae amily
income, and nuriion is a challenge. Saes and communiies also mus accoun
or he ac ha unlike children who have access o kindergaren or he ormal
educaion sysem, inans and oddlers develop in myriad setings where access o
developmenal suppor can vary rom nonexisen o very high qualiy. is means
ha children ener kindergaren wih varying skillses and a differen sages o
developmen. (see Figure 3) For his reason, ideniying effecive sraegies ha
increase unding or and access o high-qualiy inervenions and ha provide con-
inuiy hrough he inan and oddler years can help close he school readinessgap and achievemen gap and se children on he righ pah or uure success.
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7 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
A scan o saes, ciies, counies, and school disrics produced a number o emerg-
ing sraegies o address boh unding and coninuiy or inans and oddlers.
Promising sraegies and approaches o bring ogeher he various resources andservices ha promoe healhy developmen include: creaive financing; commu-
niy ocal poins or service delivery; and coninuiy in programs and sandards.
Examples o hese approaches are discussed in he ollowing secions.
FIGURE 3
Primary care arrangements vary for young children
Preschool children younger than age 5 with employed mothers, 2011
Source: Lynda Laughlin, "Who’s Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2011" (Washington: Bureau of the Census, 2013),
available at http://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2013/demo/p70-135.pdf.
22%
26.6%
25.2%
12.9%
13.2%
Parent
Other relative
Other
Center-based program
In-home care by nonrelative
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8 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Financing infant and
toddler programs
One o he criical barriers o ensuring coninuiy and access o inan and oddler
services is insufficien unding resources. As a consequence, many communi-
ies draw upon muliple unding sources o suppor inan and oddler services.
While his approach has helped saes bolser heir capaciy o provide services,
he pachwork sysem o unding sources is no ideal. e adminisraive burden
o remaining accounable o he various requiremens o each unding source can
be a significan challenge. While he end goals may be similar, he array o unding
sreams can vary and even conflic wihin he populaions hey arge or he man-daed reporing and evaluaion mechanisms, qualiy and insrucion sandards,
and/or ime rame or reporing. Similarly, since many o he unding sources are
in he orm o gran programs or philanhropic conribuions, he susainabiliy o
resources is no guaraneed, which can inhibi long-erm planning a he sae and
local adminisraive levels.
Developing a beter and more comprehensive approach o unding inan and od-
dler services would ensure ha exising programs are adequaely unded o serve
he enire eligible populaion o children and amilies. However, he curren pach-
work sysem ails o und enough slos in any given program o mee 100 percen
o need. In he absence o sufficien unding, some communiies have blended
unding sources by cenralizing heir program delivery and creaing processes and
relaionships ha esablish early childhood sysems ha can leverage he various
unding opporuniies. Communiies ha have had success wih his approach
ypically offer a mix o servicessuch as healh care, child care, and home visi-
ingha work collaboraively o suppor children across programs over ime.
Communiies are aking advanage o ederal unding sources, sae unding
sources, and philanhropic and privae parnerships in order o suppor he con-
inuum o inan and oddler services o expand access o high-qualiy programs.
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9 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Federal funding sources
ere are several ederal unding sources o suppor inan and oddler services.
Funding opporuniies are available hrough many differen ederal agencies o
suppor key aspecs o child developmen, including he Deparmen o Healh
and Human Services, he Deparmen o Educaion, and he Deparmen o Agriculure. (see able 1) Alhough each unding source aims o address a specific
issue or se o issues, he inervenions ha suppor healhy developmen ofen
produce a variey o oucomes in a person’s lie ha achieve he goals o muliple
unding sreams. For example, home visiing services have been proven o suppor
school readiness, decrease child abuse and neglec, improve maernal and child
healh, reduce crime and domesic violence, and improve amily economic sabil-
iy.12 For his reason, communiies across he counry are using a variey o und-
ing sources o suppor home visiing iniiaives and inrasrucure, including unds
specifically designed o suppor home visiing, such as he MIECHV program;
dedicaed sae appropriaions; philanhropic suppor; and oher sources ha aimo produce he same oucomes such as Early Head Sar; he Race o he op –
Early Learning Challenge; emporary Assisance or Needy Families, or ANF;
Medicaid; he Child Healh Insurance Program, or CHIP; and he Maernal and
Child Healh Block Gran, or MCH.13 A lis o prominen ederal unding sreams
ha have been leveraged o suppor inans and oddlers is presened in able 1.
While many o he unding sreams ocus on supporing a specific ype o iner-
venionsuch as Early Head Sar or he Supplemenal Nuriion Assisance
Program, or SNAP, ormerly known as ood sampsa number o he ederal
grans also provide unding more broadly or alignmen and sysems develop-
men. For insance, while MIECHV primarily unds home visiing, one o he
argeed oucomes o he gran program is o improve coordinaion wih and reer-
rals o oher communiy resources and suppors.14 Similarly, he ile V Maernal
and Child Healh Services Block Gran Program provides a airly flexible unding
sream ha suppors posiive healh oucomes or young children and moh-
ers.15 While ile V unds ocus on child and maernal healh oucomes, here is a
significan amoun o flexibiliy buil ino wha services can be suppored by he
gran. Saes have leveraged hese unds o suppor cross-secor sysems building
and home visiing services and o provide and improve healh sandards and qual-iy o child care or young children.
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10 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
TABLE 1
Federal funding sources available to support infant and toddler services
Funding stream
Number of states
receiving funding Amount of funding
Explicitly
supports
service
alignment Type of funding
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood
Home Visiting, or MIECHV
Every state, including territories
and tribal communities
$386 mil lion awarded in 2015 Yes Discretionary, formula an
competitive grants
Medicaid/Children’s Health
Insurance Program, or CHIP
Every state Not applicable Yes Mandatory, funded through a
mula and in partnership with s
Title V Maternal and Child Health Every state and nine juristictions About $6 billion per year with
state matching funds
Yes Discretionar y, grant based w
state matching funds
Early Childhood Comprehensive
Systems, or ECCS
47 states and the District of
Columbia; Guam; Northern
Mariana Islands; Puerto Rico;
Republic of Palau; and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
$7.1 mill ion awarded in 2014 Yes Discretionary, grant base
Healthy Start 33 states $65 million awarded in 2014 Yes Discretionary, grant based
Healthy Tomorrows 47 states, District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, and Guam
Funded eight five-year awards total-
ing $377,000 in fiscal year 2014
Yes Discretionary, grant based
Project LAUNCH 35 states and 20 cities, counties,
or tribal communities since 2008
$3.4 mill ion anticipated in 2015 Yes Discretionary, grant based
Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families, or TANF
Every state $31.7 billion in federal and state
maintenance of effort, or MOE,
funds awarded in FY 2013
No Discretionar y, grant based w
state matching funds
Community-Based Child Abuse
Prevention, or CBCAP
Every state $41 million for 2015 Yes Discretionary, grant based
Head Start and Early Head Start Every state $8.6 billion in 2014 Yes Discretionary, grant based
Early Head Start-Child Care,
or EHS-CC, Partnerships
Specific communities
in every state
$500 million awarded by
March 2015
Yes Discretionary, grant based
U.S. Department of Education
Child Care and Development Block
Grant, or CCDBG
Every state $109 million awarded in 2014,
targeted to infants and toddlers
Yes Discretionary, grant based w
state matching funds
Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, or ESEA, Title I
Every state About $14 billion per year. For
Title I, states typically use less than
5 percent for preschool.
Yes Discretionary, grant based
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, or IDEA, Part C
Every state, District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico
$438 million in 2014 No Discretionary, grant based
IDEA Part B Every state, District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico
$353 million in 2014 No Discretionary, grant based
Race to the Top – Early Learning
Challenge, or RTT-ELC
20 specific states picked for
grants in 3 rounds
$1 billion over three rounds
in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Yes Discret ionary, competit ive g
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11 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Ohio, or example, uses several unding sources o suppor inan and oddler
services hrough he Help Me Grow program, which is designed o ensure ha allOhio children have a healhy birh and access o he amily resources hey need o
achieve a healhy and srong sar o lie.16 e iniiaive includes boh home visiing
and early inervenion. e home visiing services include our key componens:
• Research-inormed parening curriculum
• Ongoing screenings and assessmens
• Family need-based reerral and resource linkages
• ransiion o a developmen enhancing program and early care and
educaion cener17
Since is incepion, he Help Me Grow program has drawn on ederal unding
hrough MIECHV; ANF; and he Individuals wih Disabiliies Educaion Ac,
or IDEA, Par C, unds, as well as sae general revenue unds.18 Ohio also recenly
received auhorizaion o bill aspecs o is home visiing program o Medicaid.
Besides Help Me Grow, he Ohio Office o Healh Improvemen and Wellnessoversees addiional iniiaives ha inersec wih early childhoodsuch as he
Projec Linking Acions or Unme Needs in Children’s Healh, or LAUNCH,
Funding stream
Number of states
receiving funding Amount of funding
Explicitly
supports
service
alignment Type of funding
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, or SNAP
Every state $74 billion in 2014 No Mandatory
Special Supplemental Nutriton Porgram
for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC
Every state $6 billion in 2014 No Discretionary, grant based
Child and Adult Care Food
Program , or CACFP
Every state $3 billion in 2014 No Discretionary, grant based
Note: The funding for Head Start and Early Head Start includes that for EHS-CC partnerships
Source: See appendix.
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12 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
gran; Paien Cenered Medical Homes; Ohio’s MCH Block Gran; and WIC.
Similarly, Ohio’s Division o Family and Communiy Healh Services works
closely wih oher agenciessuch as Ohio’s Medicaid office, Deparmen o
Educaion, and Deparmen o Job and Family Serviceso provide a more com-
prehensive sysem o early childhood services.19
State and local funding
In addiion o ederal unding, saes and communiies use sae- and local-level
unding o suppor inan and oddler services. Saes use boh general sae appro-
priaions and dedicaed revenue sources. In recen years, he naional atenion
o high-qualiy early learning programs has led many governors o highligh he
issue in heir budge proposals. Legislaors in Kansas, or example, allocaed sae
unds wihin heir budge o esablish he Kansas Early Childhood Block Gran,
or ECBG, o be adminisered by he Kansas Children’s Cabine and rus Fund.20 e ECBG includes a se-aside or inan and oddler services ha requires a leas
30 percen o unds o suppor programs ha serve children rom birh o age 3.21
Saes also direc specific revenue sources oward early childhood services. A num-
ber o saes suppor heir home visiing inrasrucure wih sae obacco setle-
men unds. In Caliornia, a 1998 ballo iniiaive esablished a ax on cigaretes
and obacco producs.22 Revenue rom he axes goes direcly o suppor early
learning opporuniies and healhy child developmen or children and amilies
during he firs five years o heir lives hrough he Firs 5 Caliornia program.23
In Palm Beach County, voters established the Children’s Services Council of Palm
Beach County, or CSCPBC, which is supported with dedicated funding from a county
property tax that provides 77 percent of the council’s budget.24 Services provided or
supported by the CSCPBC serve families during pregnancy, for children from birth to
age 6, and during out-of-school time for older children.25 The CSCPBC also provides
targeted services in at-risk neighborhoods to coordinate community services, includ-
ing home visiting, child care, parenting, and mental health support.26 The CSCPBC,
Palm Beach County, Florida
County property tax funds the Children’s Services Council
of Palm Beach County
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13 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Legislaors in Caliornia have made recen atemps o pass legislaion ha would
esablish a comprehensive and ully unded sysem o early learning or children
rom birh o age 5. In February 2014, sae Sen. Carol Liu (D) inroduced he
Srong Families, Srong Children Ac, which ulimaely ailed o pass he sae
legislaure.29 e bill was designed o provide unding ha would expand access o
high-qualiy early learning and parenal suppor services or low-income amilies
wih inans and oddlers. e bill aimed o align services o suppor young chil-dren by ransorming he general child care services or inans and oddlers ino a
new program named Caliornia Srong Sar, which would have provided children
wih he ollowing services rom birh o age 3 lised in he bill:
• Paren engagemen and suppor services ha promoe posiive
paren-child relaionships
• Full-day early learning and care services
• Par-day early learning and care services
• Volunary home visiaion services
• Nuriion services; and
• Reerral o services such as healh and denal care, child abuse prevenion,
housing and early childhood menal healh30
While he iniiaive received enough suppor o be considered hrough muliplerounds o commitee reerrals, concerns abou he financial viabiliy o he policy
prevened he passage o he bill.31 Similarly, provisions ha would have alered
he mandaed child-o-eacher raios raised significan concern, especially relaed
o he effec i would have on providers’ financial abiliy o mainain services wih-
ou seeing an increase in service raes.32
an innovative model that contracts with community partners through a competitive
bid process, relies on research and data to identify which community needs it should
fund. The CSCPBC also closely monitors funded programs to ensure that target child
outcomes are achieved.27 In the 2014–2015 funded program, allocations ranged
from $35,192 to $15,260,768.28
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14 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Philanthropic and private partnerships
Many saes and communiies also are drawing upon privae and philanhropic sup-
por o creae and susain an inegraed sysem o services or inans and oddlers.
e Buffet Early Childhood Insiue a he Universiy o Nebraska was esablishedhrough he financial suppor o philanhropis Susan Buffet and he resources o
he Universiy o Nebraska. e Buffet Early Childhood Insiue parners wih 11
school disrics in he Omaha area o adop a birh-hrough-hird-grade approach
o early childhood programming.33 welve schools in six disrics are piloing an
inensive model hrough which schools serve as hubs or comprehensive educaion
and suppor services or young childrenrom birh hrough hird gradeand
heir amilies, including birh hrough age 3 home visiing programs.34
In addiion, L.B. 1256 esablished he Nebraska Early Childhood Educaion Cash
Fund, also known as Sixpence, in 2006 o bring ogeher sae agencies and privaephilanhropy and o increase high-qualiy early developmenal experiences or
Nebraska’s inans and oddlers a risk o ailure in school.35 Sixpence suppors
high-qualiy, cener-based, and amily engagemen programsincluding birh
hrough age 3 home visiing programsacross he sae. A number o he parici-
paing birh hrough age 3 home visiing programs are atached o schools in an
effor o beter align hese suppors wih children’s ongoing early educaion.36
In he sae o Washingon, he legislaure esablished a Home Visiing Services
Accoun, or HVSA, which leverages public maching unds o bolser public
financing o expand evidence-based home visiing services. e legislaion cre-
aes a public-privae parnership beween he Deparmen o Early Learning and
rive by Five Washingon, he nonprofi organizaion ha adminisers he unds
and raises he philanhropic mach.37 e HVSA is designed o suppor evaluaion
o home visiing services, he provision o echnical assisance and raining, and
he inegraion o home visiing wihin he sae’s broader birh o age 3 plan.38
Recen ederal engagemen on early childhood issues hrough he Inves In US
campaign has garnered significan financial commimens rom philanhropic
parners and he privae secor o suppor early childhood programs and services.For example, e Caliornia-based Heising-Simons Foundaion commited $6.6
million beween 2015 and 2018 o mach ederal invesmens in early child-
hood programs, specifically seting aside $2 million o suppor he implemena-
ion o ederal invesmens, such as he Child Care Developmen Block Gran,
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15 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
or CCDBG, and MIECHV.39 Similarly, in ulsa, Oklahoma, he George Kaiser
Family Foundaion commited $25 million over five years o scale up a paren
engagemen iniiaive designed o connec amilies wih parening resources and
lieracy aciviies hrough communiywide engagemen. e invesmen aims o
provide services o an addiional 20,000 children who are eligible or bu currenly
no receiving services.40
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16 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Targeting infant and
toddler services
One approach o maximizing scarce financial resources and providing coninu-
iy or inans and oddlers is o concenrae services in geographic areas wih he
mos a-risk amilies or o ideniy amilies ha mos need services hrough a single
poin o enry. Wih geographic argeing, saes deliver comprehensive services
wihin regions where here are high concenraions o specific risk acorssuch
as povery, crime, high maernal or inan healh problems, or low school peror-
mance. Alernaely, some saes atemp o ideniy vulnerable amilies and connec
hem wih a broad array o services hrough a single enry poin. Coordinaingaccess o services hrough communiy ocal poins encourages more efficien and
collaboraive operaions while ocusing on comprehensive service delivery. e
ypes o services ofen involved can include healh services, nuriion services,
amily economic and employmen suppors, educaion, and home visiing.
Single points of entry
Several communiies are developing cenralized inake sysems, designed o help
amilies access muliple programs hrough a single enry poin. is policy is gain-
ing racion, resuling in par rom an influx o ederal home visiing unds hrough
he Maernal, Inan, and Early Childhood Home Visiing program. Several saes
and communiies developed cenralized inake sysems o improve access o he
coninuum o services available o a-risk children and amilies.
While cenralized inake sysems can vary in heir scope and mehodology, hey
ypically cenralize core asks ha are common o mos social services, such as
oureach and idenificaion o amilies, screening or assessmen during inake,
idenificaion o needed services, and reerral o services and programs. Somecenralized inake sysems iniiaed hrough MIECHV unding are limied o
home visiing services and aim o connec amilies o he home visiing model ha
will bes mee heir needs.41 Oher cenralized inake sysems offer much broader
reerrals o services wihin he various social domains ha suppor young children
and heir amiliesincluding healh, educaion, and nuriion.42
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17 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Many emerging cenral inake sysems sem rom or are closely conneced o
healh sysems and expand o reach across a variey o programssuch as early
learning, social services, and nuriionha serve children and amilies. Healh
care sysems are well posiioned o ideniy pregnan women who ace risk acors
and who could benefi rom addiional services. In Delaware, or example, resuls
rom developmenal screenings are provided o he sae’s cenralized inakesysems or reerral o ollow-up services. Since he process is iniiaed wihin he
healh care sysem, Medicaid unding suppors he process.43
In New Jersey, he cenral inake model has evolved rom is iniial ocus on
linking inans and pregnan women o he sae’s home visiing programs o is
curren expansion o inake hubs in all 21 counies o he sae ha provide link-
ages o resource and reerral services designed o assis amilies o young children
beyond pregnancy and birh.44 Led by he New Jersey Deparmen o Healh and
wih unding suppor rom he sae Deparmen o Educaion and he Race o he
op – Early Learning Challenge gran, he hubs help amilies access appropriaeand needed services, including home visiing; prenaal care; pediaric and adul
primary healh care; amily suppor and social services; Head Sar and Early
Head Sar; and oher early learning opporuniies, such as high-qualiy child care
ceners.45 Similar o New Jersey’s implemenaion o he MIECHV gran, cenral
inake is an ineragency collaboraion ha benefis rom he inpu o sae parners
across our sae deparmensHealh, Children and Families, Human Services,
and Educaionworking o implemen a comprehensive pregnancy o age 8 early
learning plan or he sae.46 New Jersey’s cenral inake design suppors sysems
inegraion and closely aligns wih naional sysems-building iniiaives ha
include Early Childhood Comprehensive Sysems, or ECCS; Help Me Grow; and
Projec LAUNCH.47
Capitalizing on the success of federally funded home-visiting services has pro-
vided states a unique opportunity to concentrate their efforts on aligning servicesfor infants and toddlers. MIECHV program is a federal grant initiative to fund the
expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs. It aims to improve health and
developmental outcomes by connecting families with home visitors who provide
guidance and support to parents through regular and voluntary home visits.48 Addi-
tionally, MIECHV provides resources for states and communities to improve the coor-
Serving infants and toddlers with comprehensiveservices through MIECHV
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18 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Geographic targeting of services
Services delivered wihin a argeed geographic region, someimes called hubs or
zones, offer saes and communiies an opporuniy o consolidae adminisra-
ive aciviies, share financial resources, ideniy common goals, align aciviies
and sandards, and build working relaionships across agencies while providing
a coninuum o services o a key populaion. Geographic argeing cus down
on duplicaive effors across secors and rees up resources o increase service
capaciy, ulimaely reaching more amilies and children in need. For insance,
in Washingon, D.C., he Division o Early Learning in he Office o he Sae
Superinenden o Educaion is using an Early Head Sar-Child Care Parnerships
gran o und neighborhood-based qualiy improvemen hubs o provide compre-
hensive services and an evidence-based model o inan and oddler care ha is
consisen wih he high-qualiy early learning sandards oulined in Early Head
Sar.51
ree hubs, which are in high-need wards o Washingon, will supporchild care ceners in raising heir qualiy o mee Early Head Sar sandards and
provide raining and proessional developmen opporuniiesall while parner-
ing wih oher healh, social service, and home visiing agencies o ensure ha
amilies have access o available social suppors hrough child care ceners.52
dination of services targeting infants and toddlers.49 Many states are working toward
this goal by implementing centralized intake systems. MIECHV-funded centralized in-
take in some states focuses on providing a single entry point to access home visiting
services in the state. In other states, administrators use MIECHV to connect program
intake, screening, and referral across multiple early childhood programs.50
While MIECHV supports a variety of home visiting models, many of these mod-
els place significant emphasis on developing early cognitive skills to ensure that
children are ready for preschool, kindergarten, and beyond. To achieve the goals of
healthy early development and school readiness, many home visiting curricula build
in transition support and planning. That is to say, as home visitors become trusted
advisors for parents, they often fulfill the role of facilitators and help families with the
logistics of selecting and moving into child care and early education settings, as well
as with building and supporting their child’s school-readiness skills. For this reason,
home visiting is an important part of the continuum of services to support young
children, especially those from high-need households.
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19 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Oregon is working to integrate its early childhood services by developing regional
hubs across the state that will coordinate services to the communities within the
region. This strategy was authorized by legislation in 2013 that directed the state’s
Early Learning Council to create 16 regional hubs covering the entire state.53 While
each regional hub has the flexibility to identify strategies that meet the needs of
their particular communities, the legislation mandates that each hub must work
toward the goals of aligning and coordinating an early learning system that is family
centered; fostering universal kindergarten readiness; and focusing on healthy, stable,
and attached families.
Each hub will bring together the early learning, health and human services, public
health, education, and private sectors to develop a collective vision and strategy for
achieving the overarching goals. The hubs also are charged with engaging parents
and families, coordinating services, developing shared data collection and evaluationprocesses, and measuring the impact of collective efforts by identifying and tracking
shared metrics.54 In Oregon, hubs are supported by educational organizations and a
variety of other community organizations working within the target sectors, includ-
ing the United Way from the nonprofit sector, community colleges, and coordinated
care organizations, or CCOs—umbrella organizations that aim to centralize the deliv-
ery and administration of health care services, including mental health and addiction
services, physical health care, and maternal and child health services.55
Funding for Oregon’s hubs is predominantly derived from state allocations in the
budget, but some hubs have been able to leverage additional financial support
from philanthropic sources, federal grant programs such as Race to the Top, or otherstate grant programs.56 Hubs also are working to align their services with the CCOs
that are being established in the state.57 In one hub region, the local CCO provided
the hub with additional financing to provide parent education and support to
families and children.58
Oregon early learning hubs
In order o address specifically he challenges aced by high-need communiies
or neighborhoods, inensive suppor provided wihin esablished zones bringsogeher a variey o services ha can include educaion, healh, nuriion, and
economic suppors. In recen years, saes have used Race o he op – Early
Learning Challenge, or RT-ELC, grans o ideniy arge communiies and
implemen zone sraegies. In is wo-year progress repor on RT-ELC imple-
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20 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
menaion, he Deparmen o Educaion noed ha 10 o he 20 granee saes are
specifically argeing high-need communiies, many o which are developing inno-
vaion zones.59 Since hen, oher communiies have adoped he model as well.
e ollowing ex box, describes a number o curren iniiaives implemening
his sraegy. While RT-ELC has provided saes wih a unique opporuniy and
he financial resources o implemen and pilo zone sraegies, gran unding wasonly provided or hree years and was no coninued in he mos recen appropria-
ions process, meaning ha hese iniiaives could lose unding.60
Georgia: Early Education Empowerment Zones, or E3Zs
Georgia used RTT-ELC funds to identify and create four E3Zs, with the goals of ex-
panding access to quality early education to children with high needs and aligning
supportive services, activities, and resources. Working with the state departments
of Economic Development, Community Affairs, and Education, the Georgia Depart-
ment of Early Care and Learning is applying a data-driven approach to identifying
the geographic areas with the highest proportion of need.61 Within these identified
high-need zones, Georgia is implementing tiered family copays in its child care
subsidy system based on the provider’s quality level.62 Families that choose higher-
quality care will pay less out of pocket.63 These grants provide funding for additional
slots in programs, which will allow providers to recruit and serve more high-risk
young children.64 Georgia also is planning to use its E3Zs to expand its Great StartGeorgia initiative—an effort to establish a coordinated system of services for ex-
pectant parents and children from birth to age 5—by creating home visiting hubs
in each zone.
Illinois: Early Childhood Innovation Zones
Illinois established seven Innovation Zones in high-need communities that are
committed to improving the quality of and access to early education services
for at-risk children. Each innovation zone tests different strategies to increase
participation in early education programs in targeted communities. Local collabo-
rations lead these efforts, and the most effective strategies will be considered for
statewide implementation.65
Selected zone initiatives to improve infant andtoddler services through RTT-ELC
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21 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Maryland: Community Hubs
Using RTT-ELC grant funds, the Maryland Department of Education will establish two
Community Hubs in under-resourced communities in Baltimore to provide and coor-
dinate existing services for children and families with children from birth to age 5.66
Minnesota: Transformation Zones
Minnesota is using RTT-ELC grant funds to target services toward high-need com-
munities. Currently, four areas that have high concentrations of childhood poverty
have been identified as Transformation Zones: White Earth Reservation, Itasca
County, Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood, and Northside Achievement Zone in
Minneapolis. Each zone has the flexibility to create goals and design programs to fit
the specific needs of the community.67
North Carolina: Transformation Zone
North Carolina’s Transformation Zone selected 4 counties—out of 17 eligible coun-
ties—that are committed to providing adequate early learning services to children
in poor communities to ensure that they are well equipped for kindergarten. Ap-
plying implementation science methods, the goal of the Transformation Zone is to
identify effective strategies for creating systems of services to better support young
children’s healthy development. Each community has representatives from various
early childhood agencies and a local implementation coach to ensure that the grant
and services are being used effectively.68
New Mexico: Investment Zones
The Children, Youth and Families Department launched a task force to gather infor-
mation on the condition of the state’s communities and school districts. According
to the task force’s findings, a significant amount of areas in New Mexico lacked
development; these communities are considered Investment Zones. These zones
should identify and eradicate socioeconomic and academic factors that prevent
young children from being prepared for preschool and kindergarten. 69
Pennsylvania: Community Innovation Zones
At risk elementary schools with an innovative idea apply for the competitive EarlyChildhood Education Community Innovation Zone Grant of as much as $75,000 that
is offered to 50 schools and neighborhoods. The goal of the initiative is to identify
best practices that can be elevated at a broader state level. Grants will support
developmental screening, Kindergarten Entry Inventory implementation, alignment
of early care providers and school districts, and improved family engagement. 70
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22 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Assuring continuity for infants
and toddlers
No all saes are aking a geographic approach when i comes o coordinaing
inan and oddler services and have insead sough o creae a broader culure o
coninuiy by developing saewide plans and policies. Ofen, saewide plans
iniiaed as a resul o sae legislaion specifically calling or more inegraion and
coordinaion among services or prescribed by coaliion groups, such as children’s
cabines, councils, or oher inerdeparmenal oversigh bodiesypically aim o
inves in broader access o high-qualiy early childhood services and o address
concerns relaed o coninuiy o care across a argeed age range.
Developing a statewide plan
Minnesota
In Minnesoa, he Children’s Cabineconsising o he commissioners o he
deparmens o Educaion, Healh, and Human Servicescharged he sae
Deparmen o Healh wih developing a saewide prenaal o age 3 policy
ramework ha would guide is work o build a srong early learning sysem.71
e resuling ramework ocuses on oucomes or children and amilies in five key
areas: prenaal healh, general healh, educaion, and well-being, as well as service-
area coordinaion or children rom beore birh o age 3.72
During phase 1 o he prenaal o age 3 planning process, he Minnesoa
Deparmen o Healh convened a working group o ideniy desired oucomes in
he key areas and merics o deermine success.73 Phase 2 included building par-
nerships wih a broad eam o sakeholders o ideniy policy recommendaions opromoe healhy developmen and early learning success among young children
and heir amilies and o raise he public profile o he imporance o inan and
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23 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
oddler developmen.74 Now in phase 3, he work aims o build communiy capac-
iy or innovaion in reducing healh inequiies and promoing sae, sable, and
nururing relaionships and environmens, as well as social and economic securiy
or pregnan and parening amilies wih very young children.75
Washington
e sae o Washingon developed a comprehensive plan o align services or
inans and oddlers rom birh hrough high school graduaion. In 2010, he sae
legislaure passed a bill ha required he Deparmen o Early Learning o develop
a Comprehensive Birh o 3 Plan.76 is approach aims o connec programs
ha serve children boh across ages and wihin age groups. Specifically, he plan
provides he ollowing: universal developmenal screening services ha are linked
across our sae agencies; a porolio o evidence-based home visiing services; ser-
vices o connec amilies wih primary medical care providers; suppor or amily,riend, and neighbor child care providers; increased child care choice, access, and
coninuiy by increasing capaciy hrough child care subsidies; and he creaion o a
saewide srucure o coordinae he birh o age 3 programs and services.77
In addiion, he plan offers key recommendaions o urher exising work and
represens boh shor- and long-erm invesmens in he birh o age 3 services,
such as creaing a susainable sae unding sream or inan and oddler services,
increasing unding or home visiing, providing unding or inan and oddler
child care consulaion, and creaing a sanding birh-o-age 3 subcommitee o
he Early Learning Advisory Council.78
Aligning standards, quality, and educational practices
Saes are working o improve he coninuiy o early learning programs by
aligning sandards and educaional pracices during he inan and oddler years
and beyond. Aligning sandards and educaion creaes a coninuous pahway o
learning and developmen ha reduces gaps or unnecessary redundancies in early
learning and difficul adjusmens or children moving rom one level o anoher.Similarly, i can suppor a uniorm learning ramework ha is consisen or an
enire communiy, helping ensure ha all children achieve he same developmen-
al benchmarks beore hey ener preschool or kindergarenno mater where
hey spend he firs years o heir lives.
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24 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Since access o high-qualiy care and parens’ abiliy o provide a nururing learn-
ing environmen can vary significanly during he firs ew years o children’s lie,
children ofen ener kindergaren wih vasly differen levels o experience and
readiness o learn. Correcing or his imbalance by ensuring ha qualiy sandards
are aligned across setings and conneced wih he K-12 sysem are imporan
goals o inan and oddler alignmen. Communiies are approaching sandardsalignmen by replicaing effecive sandards and regulaions rom exising high-
qualiy programs; iniiaing effors o improve he qualiy o available setings,
including inormal care received rom amily, riends, and neighbors; and ideniy-
ing developmenal benchmarks ha children should achieve rom birh hrough
heir ormal educaion.
Georgia uses is Race o he op – Early Learning Challenge unding o incen-
ivize higher qualiy along he specrum o inan and oddler care providers.
Adminisraors overseeing he implemenaion o Georgia’s RT-ELC unds are
using heir grans o provide subsidy grans o high-qualiy programs ha servechildren rom birh o age 3.79 o obain one o hese grans, providers mus
mee higher sandards or qualiy and be in an area where Georgia pre-kinder-
garen programs are available o ensure coninuiy as children age ou o inan
and oddler care.80
Meanwhile, Washingon, D.C., uses he Common Core as an opporuniy o
connec is educaional sandards or he K-12 sysem wih he early learning
sysem, including indicaors or children rom birh o preschool.81 e Disric
o Columbia esablished a se o Common Core Early Learning Sandards ha
include guidelines and expecaions or developmen wihin domains ha span
approaches o learning; logic and reasoning; communicaion and language;
lieracy; mahemaics; scienific inquiry; social sudies; he ars; social-emoional
developmen; and physical developmen, healh, and saey. Indicaors or prog-
ress wihin each area o child developmen are idenified or inans, oddlers,
2-year-olds, preschool-age children, and expecaions or preschool exi.82
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25 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
The Quality Rating and Improvement System, or QRIS, is another policy lever that
can be used to align standards and address transitions for infant and toddler devel-
opment to ensure a continuum of early learning.
Illinois has established quality guidelines in its QRIS for infant and toddler child care
settings and to address transitions. The QRIS includes child care standards related to
the learning experience, instructional quality, child screening, environmental rating,
family and community engagement, program administration, and continuous im-
provement. Illinois requires programs to demonstrate high-quality in all classrooms
to ensure that programs cannot receive a high rating if their quality of infant and
toddler classrooms and services is poor.83 Specific infant and toddler quality rating
standards include but are not limited to the following:
• To achieve a gold rating, a program must implement parent-teacher conferences;
plan specific communications with parents; plan for family involvement; and have
strategies in place for connecting families with other social, health, education, and
medical services as needed.84
• To achieve a silver rating or above, settings must implement curricula that align
with the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3 Years, or IELG,
and the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, or IELDS, for preschool
3 years old to kindergarten enrollment age.
• To achieve a silver rating, a program must have a policy and procedure to ensurethat all children, including infants and toddlers, are screened annually for special
needs and referred to other community supports as needed.
• Any child assessment tools used by a setting to evaluate a child’s developmental
progress must align with the state’s IELG and IELDS in order for a program to qualify
as a sliver rated program.
• To achieve a bronze rating, at least one administrator or teacher must have re-
ceived training on a curriculum aligned with the IELG and IELDS.
Leveraging the Quality Rating and ImprovementSystem in Illinois to align infant and toddler standards
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26 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Federal policy can support infant
and toddler alignment
While sae and local communiies are aking he lead o implemen promising
approaches o expanding services o inans and oddlers, he ederal governmen
can and mus do more o susain hese effors and ensure ha inan and oddler
programs and services are more broadly available across he Unied Saes. Key
policy acions aken a he ederal level could bolser inan and oddler services
ha are already occurring in some saes and communiies.
Specifically, Congress mus:
• Increase unding or inan and oddler services o mee demand and
improve qualiy
• Ensure ha exising ederal unding sreams provide more long-erm and con-
inuous invesmens
• Make sure ha unding sources are flexible enough o suppor coninuiy
o services
For is par, he Obama adminisraion and uure adminisraions should:
• Coninue o build momenum or invesmens in early childhood iniiaives
• Ensure ha he deparmens overseeing he various ederal unding sources
leveraged o suppor inans and oddlers provide guidance or blending ederal
unding sreams
• Iniiae a permanen cross-agency office ocused on aligning inan andoddler services
• Sreamline gran applicaions and reporing
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27 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Increase funding for infant and toddler programs at the
federal level
Since he majoriy o programs providing services or low-income children and
amilies canno mee he needs o all who are eligible, increasing invesmens o
expand services is a criical firs sep o suppor coninuiy or inans and od-dlers. Ensuring ha all eligible children receive services will beter posiion saes
and communiies o provide a coninuous pipeline o services so ha more disad-
vanaged children ener school ready o learn and a he same developmenal sage
as heir more affluen peers. Increasing unding or inan and oddler programs
will allow hem o increase capaciy and serve more children and heir amilies. All
signs poin o a difficul appropriaions process in 2016, wih he hrea o cus o
many imporan programs. o preven disruping progress a he sae and local
levels, Congress should ensure ha early childhood programs are proeced rom
unding cus.
Make funding streams permanent
While here are many differen ederal unding opporuniies ha suppor young
children and heir amilies, he majoriy o unding sreams are discreionary
unds or gran based, which makes hem less dependable. Gran-based unds,
paricularly hose ha are compeiively disribued, are no guaraneed beyond
he erms o he gran. Moreover, while compeiive gran programs can be an
effecive ool or incening beter qualiy and oucomes, hey should be comple-
mened by ormula unds ha provide a oundaion o financial suppor o build a
base level o inrasrucure.
Similarly, discreionary unding sreams ha are subjec o he annual appropria-
ions process also can be reduced or eliminaed depending on he prioriies o
Congress. is is a paricular challenge or inan and oddler services, which are
already underunded and ofen underdeveloped, unable o mee he needs o all
eligible amilies, and primarily unded a he ederal level hrough discreionary
gran programs. Uncerainy abou uure unding can inhibi long-erm plan-
ning a he sae and local levels. In recen years, parisan ension in Congress ledo sequesraion, a governmen shudown, and shor-erm exensions o criical
programs serving inans and oddlers, including MIECHV.
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Program exensions and delayed appropriaions decisions produce a grea amoun
o uncerainy or sae and local adminisraors. When adminisraors lack assur-
ance ha unding will be susained, hey may be relucan or unable o hire or
reain saff; o expand services or scale up successul effors; or o inves in qualiy
improvemen, raining, and echnical assisance. Funding uncerainy also can
mean ha ime and resources are spen on coningency planning raher han ser- vice delivery and program developmen.
Ensure flexibility within funding sources
Since he developmenal needs o young children are inherenly inerwined,
unding sources ha suppor he myriad domains o developmen should be su-
ficienly flexible o suppor iniiaives ha align communiy-level resources and
services. While some unding sreams are available o suppor broad alignmen
and sysems building effors, many programs and inervenions sill operae inisolaion. Legislaive language should promoe collaboraion and alignmen and
allow or a broader use o unds.
Continue to create momentum for investments in early
childhood initiatives
e Obama adminisraion’s spoligh on he imporance o early childhood
inervenions has leveraged he philanhropic communiy and privae secor in
meaningul ways, generaing more han $340 million in unding commimens.85
e curren adminisraion, as well as uure adminisraions, should coninue o
prioriize early childhood and inan and oddler alignmen as a key sraegy or
improving he oucomes o low-income children and amilies and developing a
uure workorce ha is compeiive on an inernaional scale.
Provide guidance on blending different sources of federal funding
Federal agencies ha adminiser he various unding sreams or inans andoddlers should provide more guidance o sae and local adminisraors on how
unds can be used o suppor sysems building and he developmen o a conin-
uum o services. Guidance should ideniy successul sraegies and demonsrae
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how hese sraegies can be replicaed while also addressing issues o conflic-
ing requiremens. Likewise, ederal agencies ha adminiser financial suppor
should esablish high-qualiy sandards ha are aligned across he various unding
sreams and are atainable or sae and local implemening agencies.
Federal agencies also should provide echnical assisance and resources o helpsae and local agencies manage he adminisraive burden o applying or and
reporing on muliple unding sreams, including how o creae daa sysems ha
can efficienly rack merics across various programs.
Consider ways to streamline grant applications and reporting for
initiatives that blend funding streams
Beyond providing guidance, he ederal governmen should consider developing
a cenralized process or applying or and reporing on grans and oher ederalunding sreams. Since he curren programs and services ha arge inans and
oddlers are adminisered across many differen ederal agencies, being accoun-
able or he various oucomes can be a significan adminisraive burden or sae
and local agencies.
Establish a permanent federal cross-agency office focused on
infant and toddler ser vices
o provide beter oversigh and suppor or inan and oddler alignmen effors,
a cross-agency office should be esablished a he ederal level o ocus on deliver-
ing he coninuum o services or young children. Such an office would mirror
sraegies currenly implemened a he sae level o provide more inenional
oversigh and adminisraion o inan and oddler services. is office would
develop and provide guidance and assisance o sae and local agencies ha apply
or and implemen grans argeing inan and oddler services. Similarly, he office
would coordinae wih he various ederal agencies ha oversee inan and oddler
programs wih he goal o sreamlining reporing processes, daa collecion, and
qualiy improvemen effors.
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Conclusion
Saes and local communiies across he counry are bringing ogeher resources
and experise o creae sysems o suppor around our younges and mos vulner-
able ciizens. While innovaion is happening on he ground locally and a he sae
level, he ederal governmen can and mus play a significan supporing role by
ampliying and expanding promising approaches o inan and oddler services
alignmen. Coninuing and increasing unding or programs ha caalyze he
healhy developmen o inans and oddlers is no only a smar invesmen bu
also a necessary one.
Families o color coninue o disproporionaely ace economic and social chal-
lenges in he Unied Saes, even as hey come o represen a larger share o he
overall populaion. ereore, policymakers mus inves in proven soluions ha
preven poor oucomes or he younges and mos vulnerable among us. Many o
hese soluions already exis bu lack he unding needed o be effecive. Aligning
services and sysems o care or inans and oddlers will allow saes and com-
muniies o more efficienly use limied resources, while building on successul
programs ha suppor he healhy developmen o our uure generaions.
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About the authors
Rachel Herzfeldt-Kamprath is a Policy Analys wih he Early Childhood Policy
eam a he Cener or American Progress, where her research and analysis con-
ribues o policy developmen ha suppors he healhy developmen o young
children. Previously, she worked on sae-level policy research, advocacy, andcommuniy organizing in Minnesoa, where her work ranged rom issues relaed
o child care and early educaion unding, o abuse and neglec, human rafficking,
and povery and affordable housing.
Katie Hamm is he Direcor o Early Childhood Policy a he Cener. Prior o
joining he Cener, Hamm worked as a program examiner a he U.S. Office o
Managemen and Budge, or OMB, on ederal child care and early educaion
programs, including he Race o he op – Early Learning Challenge, he Child
Care and Developmen Fund, and he Head Sar program. Her work ocused on
developing budge proposals o srenghen he qualiy o and access o early child-hood programs. She also worked on inernaional issues in early childhood while
on deail o he Organisaion or Economic Co-operaion and Developmen.
Earlier in her career, Hamm worked a he Cener or Law and Social Policy and
he Insiue or Women’s Policy Research on child care and early educaion issues.
Acknowledgements
e auhors would o hank he sae adminisraors who reviewed inorma-
ion abou sraegies hey are currenly working o implemen. Addiionally, he
auhors would like o hank Miriam Calderon, early childhood educaion con-
sulan, and Mimi Howard, a policy advisor or School Readiness Consuling, or
heir research suppor on his projec.
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32 Center for American Progress | Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services
Appendix: Federal funding sources
for infant and toddler services
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting
e MIECHV gran program suppors he expansion o evidence-based home
visiing services or high-risk children and amilies in saes, erriories, and ribal
communiies. Various home visiing models suppored by MIECHV provide
services or young children and parens rom beore birh o preschool.86
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
Medicaid, CHIP, provide healh insurance coverage or low-income inans and
oddlers and heir amilies. Medicaid allows eligible children o access he Early
Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and reamen program, and CHIP provides
highly flexible unds ha can suppor comprehensive healh and developmen
benefis, as well as healh insurance coverage. Saes also have been successul in
billing aspecs o maernal and inan home visiing services o Medicaid.87
Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Program
ile V Maernal and Child Healh program unds are provided o saes hrough
an annual ormula gran o provide a oundaion o ensure he healh and well-
being o women and young children. Specifically, ile V unds aim o ensure
access o high-qualiy care, reduce maernal and inan moraliy, provide compre-
hensive prenaal and posnaal care, increase child healh assessmens and rea-
men, provide access o prevenive care, suppor communiy- and amily-based
sysems o care, and provide oll-ree holines.88
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Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems
e ECCS gran program direcs unds oward srenghening sae sysems o pro-
moe early childhood developmen. e goals o he program include increasing
access o healh care, ideniying developmenal issues, improving early care and
educaion, educaing parens, and supporing amilies. In 2013, he mos recengran period, he program reocused o beter suppor early childhood iniiaives,
including MIECHV programs.89
Healthy Start
Healhy Sar is a gran program ha aims o reduce inan moraliy by ideniy-
ing new mohers in communiies wih he highes inan moraliy raes. e goal
o he program is o improve maernal healh and o help parens care or heir
young children unil hey are 2 years old. Gran unds go direcly o healh andsocial service organizaions o help reduce racial and ehnic dispariies and o
improve healh oucomes or mohers and children.90
Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program, or HTPCP
e HPCP aims o improve access o maernal and child healh care. Projecs
unded by he gran mus arge high-need communiies, represen a new iniiaive
wihin a communiy, and serve as a demonsraion ha will undergo an evalua-
ion. Inervenions can address many differen issues, including early childhood
developmen; school readiness; care coordinaion and case managemen; nuri-
ion; and physical, menal, and behavioral healh.91
Project LAUNCH
e Projec Linking Acions or Unme Needs in Children’s Healh aims o
promoe he healh and well-being o children rom birh o age 8 by supporing
heir physical, social, emoional, cogniive, and behavioral developmen. Graneescan mee hese goals by using gran unds o improve sysems coordinaion, build
inrasrucure, increase screening and reerrals, and increase access o evidence-
based prevenion and wellness promoion services or children and heir amilies.92
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Temporar y Assistance for Needy Fami lies
e ANF program awards saes block grans o provide income suppor o low-
income amilies wih children. Saes receiving hese ederal grans also conrib-
ue addiional unds oward he programs. ANF unds are inended o suppor
amilies in caring or heir children; o reduce dependency on social services byincreasing job raining, work, and marriage; o preven ou-o-marriage pregnan-
cies; and o increase wo-paren homes. ANF unds are relaively flexible, and
saes can use gran unds o mee he goals as hey see fi. For insance, a signifi-
can porion o ANF unds are spen on providing child care, and recenly, saes
have used ANF unds o suppor heir home visiing iniiaives.93
Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and
Neglect, or CBCAP
e CBCAP program was designed o suppor communiy-based effors o preven
child abuse and neglec by coordinaing resources and aciviies o srenghen and
suppor amilies. o receive unds, saes mus ideniy a plan o blend ederal, sae,
and privae unds; o promoe paren leadership; o oser ineragency coordinaion;
o increase heir use o evidence-based programs and inervenions; and o evaluae
he effeciveness o heir programs. ese goals can be achieved by implemening
services such as home visiing and communiy and amily resource ceners.94
Head Start and Early Head Start
Boh he Head Sar and Early Head Sar programs suppor he menal, social,
and emoional developmen o children rom birh o age 5 by providing educa-
ion, healh, nuriion, social, and oher services. Head Sar promoes he role o
parens as a child’s firs and mos imporan eachers and works wih amilies o
suppor posiive paren-child relaionships, amily well-being, and connecions
o peers and communiies. Head Sar began as a program or preschoolers, and
he majoriy o children served are ages 3 o 4. Early Head Sar serves pregnan
women, inans, and oddlers hrough programs ha are available unil childrenurn 3 years old and ransiion ino Head Sar or oher preschool programs. Early
Head Sar suppors amilies hrough early, coninuous, inensive, and compre-
hensive services.95
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Early Head Start-Child Care, or EHS-CC, Partnerships
EHS-CC Parnerships grans enable new or exising Early Head Sar programs o
collaborae wih local child care ceners and high qualiy home-based amily child
care providers ha serve low-income inans and oddlers o provide ull-day,
ull-year programs or working amilies. ese parnerships will also exend hecomprehensive services provided by Early Head Sar, including higher healh,
saey, and nuriion sandards; comprehensive screenings; proessional develop-
men or eachers; and paren engagemen.96
Child Care and Development Block Grant, or CCDBG
e 2014 reauhorizaion o he CCDBG requires saes o spend a minimum o 3
percen o heir CCDBG unds o improve he qualiy and increase he quaniy o
care or inans and oddlers. Aciviies ha can be unded hrough his se-asideinclude esablishing and expanding high-qualiy communiy or neighborhood
amily and child developmen ceners; improving access o provider raining, ech-
nical assisance, and proessional developmen; incorporaing inan and oddler
componens ino he sae’s Qualiy Raing and Improvemen Sysem; helping
parens access high-qualiy child care programs; and oher aciviies ha suppor
he healhy developmen o inans and oddlers.97
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA, Title I
ile I o he ESEA idenifies preschools as an allowable use or unds. ese unds
can suppor programs designed o improve he cogniive, healh, and social-
emoional oucomes or eligible children rom birh o he age a which ree public
elemenary educaion is provided. Children who live in areas wih lower achieve-
men raes could be eligible o paricipae in ile I-unded preschool programs.
ile I unds also aim o promoe paren engagemen, suppor he ransiion o
young children ino kindergaren, and coordinae wih oher ederal programs ha
benefi young children.98
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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C
Par C o IDEA is a sae-adminisered program o serve inans and oddlers
wih developmenal delays or diagnosed physical or menal condiions rom birh
hrough age 2. Is purpose is o provide ree access o public educaion or all
young children wih disabiliies, ensure heir righs, and assis saes and local eni-ies in beter serving hem.99
IDEA Part B
Secion 619 o Par B o IDEA offers saes grans o provide preschool o children
wih disabiliies rom age 3 o age 5 and, a he saes’ discreion, o 2-year-olds
wih disabiliies who will urn 3 years old during he school year.100
Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge
e RT-ELC is a compeiive gran iniiaive ocused on improving early learning
and developmen programs or young children. Grans go direcly o saes ha
are working o increase he number or percenage o low-income and disadvan-
aged inans, oddlers, and preschoolers who are enrolled in high-qualiy early
learning programs. e grans also can suppor effors o design and implemen
sysems inegraion iniiaives and o improve he qualiy o assessmens in early
childhood programs. Grans were awarded in 2011, 2012, and 2013 bu were no
unded beyond hese years.101
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
SNAP provides individuals and amilies wih nuriion assisance. Individuals who
qualiy based on income, resources, deducions, immigraion requiremens, employ-
men, and disabiliy can apply or SNAP benefis hrough local SNAP offices. 102
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Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children
WIC provides ederal grans o he saes or supplemenal oods, healh care
reerrals, and nuriion educaion or low-income pregnan, breaseeding, and
non-breaseeding posparum women, as well as or inans and children hroughage 5 who are ound o be a nuriional risk.103
Child and Adult Care Food Program, or CACFP
CACFP provides nuriious meals and snacks o inans and children who are
enrolled in a variey o child care seting, including: public and privae nonprofi
child care ceners, Head Sar programs, care ceners serving children ouside o
school hours, oher licensed or approved day care providers, and some or-profi
ceners serving lower income children. CACFP reimburses paricipaing cenersor he eligible meals and snacks served o enrolled children, specifically argeing
hose children mos in need.104
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Endnotes
1 Harvard University Center on the Developing Child,“InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development”(2007), available at http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/briefs/inbrief_series/inbrief_the_science_of_ecd/.
2 Julia B. Isaacs, “Starting School at a Disadvantage: The School Readiness of Poor Children” (Washington:Center on Children and Families at Brookings, 2012),available at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/re-search/files/papers/2012/3/19%20school%20disadvan-tage%20isaacs/0319_school_disadvantage_isaacs.pdf .
3 Bjorn Carey, “Learning gap between rich and poorchildren begins in infancy, Stanford psychologistsfind,” Stanford Report, September 25, 2013, availableat http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/september/toddler-language-gap-091213.html.
4 David Murphey, Mae Cooper, and Nicole Forry, “TheYoungest Americans: A Statistical Portrait of Infants and
Toddlers in the United States” (Chicago and Bethesda,MD: Robert R. McCormick Foundation and Child Trends,2013), available at http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/MCCORMICK-FINAL.pdf .
5 Bureau of the Census, “Most Children Younger Than Age1 are Minorities, Census Bureau Reports,” Press release,May 17, 2012, available at https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb12-90.html.
6 Murphey, Cooper, and Forry, “The Youngest Americans.”
7 Ibid.
8 Harvard University Center on the Developing Child,“Key Concepts: Toxic Stress,” available at http://devel-opingchild.harvard.edu/key_concepts/toxic_stress_re-sponse/ (last accessed May 2015).
9 Maryam Adamu and others, “Aligning and Investingin Infant and Toddler Services” (Washington: Centerfor American Progress, 2014), available at https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/InfantToddler-report.pdf .
10 Health Resources and Services Administration, The Ma-ternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting ProgramPartnering with Parents to Help Children Succeed (U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, 2015),available at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/homevisit-ing/programbrief.pdf.
11 Based on authors’ calculations from Food and NutritionService, “WIC Program,” available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/wic-program (last accessed May 2015).
12 Stephanie Schmidt, Christina Walker, and RachelHerzfeldt-Kamprath, “An Investment in Our Future:How Federal Home Visiting Funding Provides CriticalSupport for Parents and Children” (Washington: Centerfor Law and Social Policy and Center for American Prog-ress, 2015), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/report/2015/02/11/106406/
an-investment-in-our-future/.
13 Ibid.
14 Health Resources and Services Administration, The Ma-ternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting ProgramPartnering with Parents to Help Children Succeed .
15 Health Resources and Services Administration, “TitleV Maternal and Child Health S ervices Block GrantProgram,” available at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/titlevgrants/ (last accessed May 2015).
16 Ohio Department of Health, “Ohio Help Me Grow,” avail-able at http://www.helpmegrow.ohio.gov/en/aboutus/abouthelpmegrow.aspx (last accessed May 2015).
17 Ground Work Ohio, “Ohio’s Help Me Grow Pro-gram: Serving Ohio’s Vulnerable Infants and Toddlers”(2014), available at http://groundworkohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Help-Me-Grow-0409.pdf .
18 Ibid.
19 Ohio Department of Health, “Maternal and Child HealthPrograms,” available at https://www.odh.ohio.gov/land-ing/phs_access/family.aspx (last accessed May 2015).
20 Zero to Three, “Resource Details Kansas Early ChildhoodBlock Grant,” available at http://policy.db.zerotothree.org/policyp/view.aspx?InitiativeID=595&origin=results&QS=%27&union=AND&viewby=50&startrec=1&tbl_Public_InitiativeYMGHFREStateTerritoryTribe=KS&tbl_Public_InitiativeYMGHFREDescription=&top_par-ent=164 (last accessed May 2015).
21 Ibid.
22 First 5 California, “Welcome to First 5 California,” avail-able at http://www.first5california.com/ (last accessedMay 2015).
23 Ibid.
24 Children’s Services Council Palm Beach County, “HowWe’re Funded,” available at http://www.cscpbc.org/howfunded (last accessed May 2015).
25 Ibid.
26 Children’s Services Council Palm Beach County, “2014- 2015 Funded Programs,” available at http://www.cscpbc.org/funded-programs (last accessed May 2015).
27 Children’s Services Council Palm Beach County, “CSCBids (RFP/RFQ),” available at http://www.cscpbc.org/openprop (last accessed May 2015).
28 Children’s Services Council Palm Beach County, “2014 -2015 Funded Programs.”
29 Child Care and Development Services Bill , California S.B.No. 1123 (February 19, 2014), available at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1123.
30 California Legislative Information, “SB-1123 Child careand development services: Bill Analysis,” availableathttp://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1123 (last accessed May2015).
31 Child Care and Development Services Bill .
32 California Legislative Information, “SB-1123 Child careand development services: Bill Analysis.”