Participation in high-quality early care and education programs is crucial in setting children up for success in K-12 and beyond. But challenges including families receiving limited information about services; service providers being overburdened by data submission requirements; and policymakers knowing little about these services and their impact on families make it difficult to assess what is actually needed and to allocate resources, according to a new resource from the Data Quality Campaign (DQC).
“Better data is critical to improving the early childhood ecosystem. While many states have initiated promising efforts on these fronts, more comprehensive efforts are needed,” the document states. “This resource is meant to help states understand the return on investment of improving their data capacity; provide some high-level guidance about how to make the improvements they need; and support them in laying a strong foundation for connecting early childhood data within the ecosystem and with K-12, postsecondary, and workforce data.”
“Transform State Early Childhood Data to Meet the Needs of Children, Families, and Those Who Support Them,” released Oct. 17, highlights ways in which states can use their data systems to help improve experiences and outcomes for children and ensure that data can be connected with statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) through three “use cases.”
Use cases include a scenario, types of data that different stakeholders need access to, a description of what will be possible when these use cases are realized, examples of states that are in the process of making data access possible and considerations for getting started.
The first focuses on making access to early childhood services easier for families. Currently, families must navigate any number of websites to find a provider that meets their needs and has availability, and then apply separately to each service for which they might be eligible.
“If states provide information through a centralized portal, families can enter basic information about themselves and what they’re looking for,” according to the DQC resource. “They can then receive up-to-date information on available services in their area … and use convenient online forms to apply for eligibility or enroll. If they are seeking eligibility for multiple services, the family portal can help streamline and expedite the application process.”
A digital family portal can bring together relevant information from across services that are administered by different offices, including:
- Services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for children with special education needs
- Comprehensive services that support health and development
- Nutrition benefits and supports
- Health insurance
- The Head Start program and publicly funded pre-K
As states work to make accessing services easier, the DQC recommends leaders consider developing an aligned eligibility screener to simplify all eligibility processes, evaluate existing data collection and determine whether data is already being collected and can be integrated into a family portal.
The remaining two use cases examine how states can use data systems to reduce the reporting burden on providers and integrate data across services to inform policy decisions.
“Understanding the early childhood ecosystem requires data about populations, available services, participation in services, the early childhood workforce and child outcomes,” according to the document. “States collect much of that data but historically have held it in separate silos.”
By integrating data across early childhood services and connecting it to the rest of the education system, state policymakers and advocates can have a more complete picture of the experiences of young children. This will allow them to better address key policy issues related to supply and potential demand to understand where resources are needed, understand the quality of services offered and the state of the early childhood workforce, and ensure that researchers have access to individual-level data on the services children use in early childhood and what happens to those children and their families later in life.
