What Evidence Do We Have for How Well We Are Doing in Serving Young Children Who Are Culturally, Linguistically, and Socio-Economically Diverse? A Landing Pad of Resources
This landing pad offers evidence sources (Just the Facts, Ma’am), audiovisual resources (See for Yourself), web resources (Find It Online), and Organizations/Initiatives that can be used to guide thinking about Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and the ways in which they are (or aren’t) intentional in their focus on children who are culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse and their families.
Just the Facts, Ma’am
Basic Facts About Low-Income Children (2010)
Census numbers for 2010 show that the official child poverty rate in the United States increased for the fourth year in a row. The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) has published updated fact sheets describing the demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics of young children and their families – highlighting important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children from their less disadvantaged peers. Data are available for children under three, children under six, children 6 through 11, and children 12 through 17.
http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1056.html
Disparities and Disproportionality in Child Welfare: Analysis of the Research
In 2010, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and The Annie E. Casey Foundation, as part of the broader activities of the Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare, convened a symposium to discuss the findings from a series of papers analyzing and reflecting on current research related to racial differences in child welfare services, treatment and outcomes. The product of that symposium provides an analysis of what is known from the research. This information may be useful to put in place strategies, programs, policies and continued research toward the goals of removing inequities by race and improving child welfare outcomes for children and families of color.
http://www.cssp.org/publications/child-welfare/alliance/Disparities-and-Disproportionality-in-Child-Welfare_An-Analysis-of-the-Research-December-2011.pdf
The Early Achievement and Development Gap
This 2014 brief describes research on the large gap in achievement and development between children growing up in poor and low-income families and their peers in more advantaged situations. It examines how early care and education policies and programs can support school readiness for all children and narrow the gap.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/14/achievementgap/rb_AchievementGap.pdf
Kids Count Data Snapshot on High-Poverty Communities
The National League of Cities (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education and Families joined the Annie E. Casey Foundation to create this resource. It reveals the increased number of children living in poverty in America’s states and 50 largest cities.
http://www.aecf.org/~/media/Pubs/Initiatives/KIDS%20COUNT/D/DataSnapshotonHighPovertyCommunities/KIDSCOUNTDataSnapshot_HighPovertyCommunities.pdf
Prekindergarteners Left Behind: Expulsion Rates in State Prekindergarten Systems
Walter Gilliam’s findings highlight that the prekindergarten expulsion rate is 3.2 times the rate for K-12 students. Further, rates were highest for older preschoolers and African-Americans, and boys were over 4½ times more likely to be expelled than were girls.
http://www.plan4preschool.org/documents/pk-expulsion.pdf
The Research Base for a Birth through Age Eight State Policy Framework
This 2013 resource from the Alliance for Early Success and Child Trends offers policymakers and early childhood advocates a set of 38 policy choices, supported by research findings, to improve the health, well-being, and education of America’s youngest and most vulnerable children. The report provides the supporting research for the policy choices in the framework, along with a research discussion, synthesis of specific research, and citations. While the policies can benefit all children, one underlying principle of the framework is that limited resources should first be allocated to children most at risk for poor outcomes who can benefit the most. http://www.earlysuccess.org/sites/default/files/website_files/files/B8%20Policy%20Framework%20Research.pdf
The Short- and Long-Term Impacts of Large Public Early Care and Education Programs
This 2014 brief describes the short- and long-term impacts of large public Early Care and Education programs in the United States for children before kindergarten entry, including what key features of programs lead to the best outcomes and how to sustain program benefits as children grow older. It does not include the many smaller ECE programs, including model or demonstration programs in the U.S. and abroad, that have also been evaluated.
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/14/longTermImpact/rb_longTermImpact.pdf
State Baby Facts (2013)
This series of factsheets for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia provides infant and toddler data in the framework of good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences.
http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/state-community-policy/infant-and-toddler-state-fact-sheets.html
The State of America's Children 2014
The annual report on the well-being of children by the Children's Defense Fund provides data on child population, poverty, family structure and income, housing, child nutrition, early childhood, education, and more. It finds that for the first time, the majority of children in America under the age of two are now children of color and that children of color are disproportionately poor. Over 1 in 4 children under age 5 are poor and over 1 in 3 children of color under age 5 are poor.
http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/state-of-americas-children/
Subprime Learning: Early Education in America Since the Great Recession
The authors of this 2014 report look at indicators related to early care and education over the past five years, finding that although progress has been made in home-visiting programs, infrastructure-building, standards, and accountability across many states and federal policies, there has also been an increase in child poverty, a lack of attention to the growing population of dual-language learners, reduced funding, and widening achievement gaps between rich and poor. They conclude that the past five years have not worked in the favor of young children who need access to opportunities that would give them a strong start in school and life. Access this resource at http://newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/files/policydocs/NewAmerica_SubprimeLearning_Release.pdf
When the Bough Breaks: The Effects of Homelessness on Young Children
Child Trends has published a brief that looks at how homelessness impacts the development of young children (February 2012). The brief reports that between 2006 and 2010, approximately 1.6 million children were homeless annually in the U.S. and about 40% of those children were under the age of six. The brief discusses research findings showing that preschoolers without a stable home are more likely to have a major developmental delay and higher rates of internalizing and externalizing behaviors than other children. It includes recommendations to help improve outcomes for these children, including access to high-quality child care and early education programs.
http://www.childtrends.org/Files/Child_Trends-2012_02_16_ECH_Homelessness.pdf
The Youngest Americans: A Statistical Portrait of Infants and Toddlers in the US
Child Trends has produced a statistical portrait of infants and toddlers nationwide that pulls together the latest facts on demographics, child health and development, parental well-being, neighborhood and family context, and public/private supports. Data related to economic hardship, race/ethnicity, and other key contexts are summarized in the Key Findings section and reported throughout the document.
http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/MCCORMICK-FINAL.pdf
See For Yourself
Constructing Culturally Competent Quality Rating and Improvement Systems: A Conversation
A recent scan of statewide QRISs showed that when considering quality in early learning environments few included explicit strategies for rating programs in terms of cultural competence, diversity or a child’s home language. This presentation by Antonia Lopez, National Council of La Raza, addresses how to bring these topics into the definition of quality at the state level and helps leaders think about how a culturally competent QRIS might look.
http://www.buildinitiative.org/WhatsNew/ViewArticle/tabid/96/smid/412/ArticleID/160/Default.aspx
Race Matters PowerPoint Presentation
This PowerPoint presentation offers examples to illustrate the ways in which racial inequities are embedded throughout different efforts and initiatives, as well as tools and strategies for combatting such inequities.
http://www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/race_matters2006.ppt
Find It Online
Acts of Omission: An Overview of Child Neglect
This 2012 publication from the Child Welfare Information Gateway addresses the scope of the problem of child neglect as well as its consequences. Acts of Omission reviews definitions and strategies for assessing neglect, presents lessons learned about prevention and intervention, and suggests sources of training and informational support. Strategies for addressing neglect, beginning with prevention, are included.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/focus/acts/acts.pdf
Addressing Issues of Racial, Ethnic, Cultural, and Linguistic Diversity in Early Childhood Education Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
This extensive annotated list highlights resources organized by the following topics: (1) System development and refinement; (2) Quality improvement; (3) Rating quality; (4) Standards; (5) Data; (6) Communicating with families; (7) Awareness-building; and (8) Communication with policymakers.
http://www.qrisnetwork.org/sites/all/files/resources/gscobb/2011-09-28%2014%3A38/DiversityResourceList.pdf
Advancing Better Outcomes for All Children: Reporting Data Using a Racial Equity Lens
If you are looking for ways to bring a lens of racial equity to your work, this update from Race Matters may be useful. It highlights effective approaches (e.g., disaggregating data by race and ethnicity) and offers specific strategies (e.g., selection of indicators, organization, analyses).
http://www.aecf.org/~/media/PublicationFiles/MORE_Data_Guide_2_20PK_Edits11.pdf
Building Early Childhood Systems in a Multi-Ethnic Society: An Overview of BUILD's Briefs on Diversity and Equity
The BUILD Initiative has produced a series of briefs on diversity and equity to help fill a knowledge and communication gap in developing early childhood systems for a multi-ethnic society. The series describes efforts within states to address racial/ethnic disparities and promote equity and assesses the current state of the field and the research and information available that should undergird state strategies.
http://earlylearning.org/temp-files/3.%20Early%20Learning%20-%20BUILD.pdf
Building Public Early Childhood Data Systems for a Multi-Ethnic Society: Issues & Opportunities
Charlie Bruner and Betty Emarita offer insights for ways to close participation, cultural awareness and recognition, and workforce diversity gaps by gathering information on ethnicity, culture, and language within early childhood data systems in this 2009 publication. http://www.cfpciowa.org/documents/filelibrary/issues/early_childhood_data_systems/Building%20Public%20Early%20Childhood%20Data%20Systems%20for%20a%20Multiethnic%20Society.pdf
Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)
This new data tool from the Office of Civil Rights includes data from all 97,000 schools, 16,500 school districts, and 49 million students in the US on school discipline, access to preschool, teacher equity, and other key concepts. Despite initial appearances that this is exclusively a school-age tool, take a look at what the data have to say about the youngest learners:
· Public preschool access is not yet a reality for much of the nation as about 40% of school districts do not offer preschool programs.
· Part-day preschool is offered more often than full-day (in 57% of school districts that operate public preschool programs).
· About half of the school districts that operate public preschool programs limit access by family economic level or other categories.
· Native-Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, American Indian, and Native-Alaskan kindergarten students are held back a year at nearly twice the rate of white kindergarten students. Boys represent 61% of kindergarteners retained.
· Black children make up 18% of preschool enrollment, but 48% of preschool children suspended more than once. Boys receive more than three out of four out-of-school preschool suspensions.
http://ocrdata.ed.gov/
A Count for Quality: Child Care Center Directors on Rating and Improvement Systems
The Center for Law and Social Policy and the National Women's Law Center published this report which describes the experiences of child care center directors in several states with key QRIS components, including quality standards, monitoring and assessment, and financing and supports. It includes findings on meeting the needs of infants and toddlers, culturally and linguistically diverse children, and children with special needs within QRIS standards. Recommendations for policy-makers from the perspective of child care center directors are also included.
http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=child_care_and_early_education&id=0359
diversitydatakids.org
The Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy (ICYFP) at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management has launched a new online data and analysis tool, providing unprecedented insight into wellbeing and equity among the ever-more diverse child population in the United States. The site, diversitydatakids.org, allows users to create customized profiles, rankings and maps that make data visual and digestible. It also features a neighborhood-level child opportunity index, which allows users to view interactive maps of the opportunities that are available to children in their own neighborhoods – a story that is often strikingly different by race/ethnicity. In addition to providing this index and hundreds of standard data indicators broken down by race and ethnicity, this site generates unique, equity-focused indicators of known structural factors that influence disparities in healthy child development. It also allows users to drill down from the national level to metropolitan areas and school districts, and in some cases, down to the neighborhood level, providing pinpoint views of the often nuanced inequities present among children of various racial and ethnic groups.
http://www.diversitydatakids.org/
Economic Insecurity in Children' Lives: Changes Over the Course of the Great Recession
A September 2013 report from the Urban Institute documents how many children in the U.S. are living in economically insecure families, how economic insecurity changed between 2007 and 2010, and which children were most affected. Among other findings, the report shows that the rate of child poverty increased from 18% in 2007 to 22% in 2010 and the share of children living in food-insecure families rose from 13% to 22%. The share of children living in households that were doubling up and the share of children with an uninsured parent also grew. Additionally, the wealth of white families declined by 11%, Hispanic families had losses of 40% and black families had losses of 31%, thus widening the already enormous disparities in wealth accumulation that existed before the recession. The report also looks at whether children are receiving public program benefits and whether these programs appear to be meeting the needs of families with children.
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412900-Economic-Insecurity-in-Childrens-Lives.pdf
Five Steps for Structuring Data-Informed Conversations and Action in Education
This 2013 facilitation guide from the Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific, describes five key steps teams can follow to better use data for informed decision making and strategic action: (1) setting the stage, (2) examining the data, (3) understanding the findings, (4) developing an action plan, and (5) monitoring progress and measuring success.
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=360
Markers that Matter: Success Indicators in Early Learning and Education
The Foundation Strategy Group (FSG), with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, has published July 2013 report which identifies a synthesized set of 48 early childhood indicators that reflect healthy development of young children. The indicators were synthesized and prioritized with input from over two dozen expert advisors after reviewing over 1,100 indicators from 11 existing early childhood indicator sets. The authors also identify gaps where more research is needed, particularly to develop indicators that reflect the increasing diversity among young children and their families in the U.S. The indicators can be used to support the healthy development of young children, to better understand and address inequities across racial and cultural groups, and to provide a common language that facilitates communication and coordination on behalf of all young children.