State Advisory Councils must conduct periodic statewide needs assessments on the quality and availability of early care and education programs and services.  What kinds of demographic, policy and outcome data are available to help states draw the picture of early care and education programs and services in their states?  What methodologies are being used to link data from state needs assessments to plans to improve access to higher quality programs?

Speakers:

• Danielle Ewen, Director, Child Care and Early Education, Center for Law and Social Policy

Resources:

• Session Recording.  Part I.  Part II.
   

• Presentation
   

• NCCP:  Demographics Wizard test users create custom tables of national- and state-level statistics about low-income or poor children under the age of six.
   

•  NCCP:  Young Child Risk Calculator provides state-specific graphs on incidence of individual risks that are known to increase the chance of poor health, school, and developmental outcomes for young children.  The calculator also produces the incidence of young children with multiple risks, who are exceptionally vulnerable.
   

• NCCP:  Improving the odds for Young Children provides state-specific, regional, and national profiles that integrate data about an array of policies that affect early childhood development.
   

• Children in Newcomer and Native Families presents a large number of indicators reflecting the characteristics of children from birth through age 17 in immigrant families by country or region of origin and in native-born families by race-ethnicity.
   

• FRAC's Federal Food Programs State Profiles include information on state demographics, poverty, food insecurity, participation in federal nutrition programs, and state economic security policies.
   

• ZERO TO THREE:  Baby Matters is a searchable data base of state policies and initiatives impacting infants and toddlers.

  
  State Examples
   

• Pennsylvania Reach and Risk Assessment provides information about how well the commonwealth is reaching its young children with quality early learning services, with special attention to at-risk children for fiscal year 2009-2010.

• Connecticut Commission on Children 2010 Results-Based Accountability Report and Annual Report identifies indicators and monitors trends to promote the health, safety, and learning of children in the state.