Towards Early Success

Including Babies and Toddlers in Early EducationPresentation by Joan Lombardi, Ph.D.Governors Forum on Quality PreschoolDecember, 2003

Points to discussWhat do we know about early development and babies and toddlers? Early Childhood Development 0-3 A Policy FrameworkNext steps for policymakers

Early development.

The foundation for good health is established in the earliest yearsBabies are born learningThe domains of development are integrated (social, emotional, cognitive, language, physical)The rate of development varies in children Infants and toddlers learn through relationships

What is predictive of later success?Parent-child relationship (attachment) Family context Income Maternal Education Family stress/parental mental health Early Experience Language experience Early child care quality Maternal sensitivity Health Birth outcomes Lead poisoning Nutrition Receipt of preventive care

Source: Teresa Hawley, Ph.D

Babies and toddlers today4 million babies born each year 12 million infants and toddlers in the United States More than 2 million infants and toddlers live in poverty Infants are the fastest growing group in foster careSource: Americas Babies, The ZEROTOTHREE Policy Center Data Book

Increasing number of infants and toddlers are in non parental care on a regular basisSource:NIEER: based on National Center for Education Statistics, 200l, National Household Data Files,l999

Increasing diversity Source: Calculated by Donald J Hernandez from US Census Bureau, 2000 Census

25% to 83% of all infants/toddlers in 31 states live in native-born minority or immigrant families

For 50 U.S. states Percent in minority or immigrant families

Source: Calculated by Donald J. Hernandez from U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 U.S. Census, 1% IPUMS.

Chart1

81.57

70.48

67.02

60.74

53.65

48.98

47.24

45.17

45.03

44.79

44.33

41.64

41.34

40.24

39.51

38.32

37.15

37.09

36.84

36.48

36.2

34.1

33.81

33.62

29.04

28.73

28.45

26.47

25.67

25.49

24.6

22.67

22.35

21.7

21.64

21.56

21.19

20.99

20.76

18.76

17.81

17.59

14.25

13.93

11.45

10.78

10.11

8.22

7.83

7.4

50%

25%

Sheet1

State% Non-Hispanic White 3rd Generation, 19902000 1PCT ipumsSTATEFIP * MAJMIN

DC8910.9AKAlabamaDC1183

HI7623.7ALAlaskaHI1582

NM6237.9ARArizonaNM3570

CA6039.8AZArkansasCA0667

TX5248.4CACaliforniaTX4861

MS4752.7COColoradoAZ0454

NY4753.4CTConnecticutNV3249

AZ4456.1DCDelawareMS2847

LA4356.6DEDCMD2445

FL4257.8FLFloridaNY3645

NJ4257.9GAGeorgiaGA1345

SC4158.6HIHawaiiFL1244

MD4060.2IAIdahoLA2242

GA3960.9IDIllinoisIL1741

IL3861.9ILIndianaAK0240

AK3664.3INIowaNJ3440

AL3664.4KSKansasSC4538

NV3466.0KYKentuckyDE1037

NC3466.2LALouisianaVA5137

VA3366.9MAMaineOK4037

CT3267.7MDMarylandCO0836

DE3070.2MEMassachuseetsNC3736

CO2970.8MIMichiganWA5334

OK2871.7MNMinnesotaAL0134

MA2872.2MOMississippiCT0934

MI2872.3MSMissouriRI4429

RI2872.5MTMontanaAR0529

AR2674.5NCNebraskaMI2628

TN2575.4RACIM1=1total% wh 3rdNDNevadaTN4726

WA2476.539275.761057.764.3%NENew HampshireMA2526

PA2079.9NHNew JerseyOR4125

OH2080.1Avg of states=NJNew MexicoKS2025

MO1980.5NMNew YorkOH3923

KS1881.9NVNorth CarolinaPA4222

OR1881.9NYNorth DakotaNE3122

WI1782.9OHOhioSD4622

IN1783.4OKOklahomaMN2722

SD1683.8OROregonIN1821

UT1585.0PAPennsylvaniaWI5521

MT1585.1RIRhode IslandMO2921

WY1485.9SCSouth CarolinaUT4919

MN1486.4SDSouth DakotaND3818

NE1386.6TNTennesseeID1618

ID1387.1TXTexasKY2114

KY1287.6UTUtahIA1914

ND1288.5VAVermontWY5611

NH1189.0VTVirginiaNH3311

ME990.7WAWashingtonMT3010

IA990.9WIWest VirginiaVT508

VT991.5WVWisconsinWV548

WV792.8WYWyomingME237

Research says start early..Early Head Start evaluation demonstrated that we can improve cognitive, language and social skills; health; parenting and family self sufficiencyWe have the best results when programs are well implemented (follow standards), focus on parents as well as children, are started early (during the prenatal period) Many children from low income families enter preschool already behind

Abecedarian Outcomes at 21

SOURCE: W. Steve Barnett, National Institute for Early Education Research (www.nieer.org)

Health Care and Family Support

Quality Child Care

Ready to Succeed: Early Childhood Development 0-3

Early Head Start

All Children

Children of Working Families

Children of Families in Poverty (Working or Home)

Supports for children with special needs

GoalsHealthy childrenStrong familiesEarly Learning

Ready to Succeed: Prenatal to Age ThreePolicy Agenda

Level I- Universal Access to: Prenatal care Health insurance Medical home Developmental screening and follow-up Paid family leave for up to one year Parenting resources and support

Level II- Working Family Access to Quality Child Care Trained and credentialed providers Infant Toddler Specialists in Every Community Family Child Care Networks Outreach to Family, Friends and Neighbor Providers Linkages to health, mental health and early intervention

Level III- Families in Poverty Access to Early Head Start Comprehensive services (health, education, family support, special needs services) through center based, home based or combination programs

Next steps for policymakersBuild public awareness about the importance of the 0-3 period and early successCreate a blueprint for early education that includes children 0-5 (New York) Include a set-aside for infants and toddlers in any pre-k initiative (Illinois) Expand Early Head Start (Kansas)Launch special initiatives around poorly performing schools focused on infants and toddlers (parent education, developmental screening and follow-up, improved child care)

Resources Better Baby Care Campaign www.betterbabycare.org

ZEROTOTHREE Policy Center www.ZEROTOTHREE.org

National Partnership for Women and Families www.nationalpartnership.org

I Am Your Child Foundation www.iamyourchild.org

Civitas www.civitas.org

Talaris Research Institute www.talaris.org

Source: Urban Institute