This issue brief analyzes characteristics of the early care and education (ECE) workforce in Arkansas and identifies research on the correlation between high-quality ECE and child development, as well as ECE providers’ emotional well-being. The brief focuses on variance of the ECE workforce by region or in terms of rural versus urban relative to teachers’ and caregivers’ self-reports of well-being, economic pressures, and education levels. Also highlighted are the factors that stakeholders identify as contributing to the variation of these characteristics across the state.

This tool relies on state-provided or other public data to support early childhood stakeholders in calculating the funds needed to increase early childhood workforce qualifications. The calculator enables the user to set the program type (for example, Head Start, Pre-K, or other center-based programs), child age group (infant-toddler and/or pre-K), and teacher category (lead and/or assistant teacher). Other data to be inputted include number of early childhood educators, current educational qualifications of the existing workforce; whether the teacher has the required credentials; and average tuition costs, on a statewide basis, for two-year and four-year degree programs.

This two-part research-to-practice brief covers the process of building Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCP). These partners expand access to quality early childhood care and education programs for infants, toddlers, and their families, while also providing participating children and families with comprehensive health, developmental, and family support services through the partnerships. Drawing on interviews and convenings, the first part offers lessons learned from six partnerships on considerations when forming EHS-CC partnerships and developing contractual agreements among providers. The second part of the brief includes additional resources, summaries of successful partnership agreements, and expectations in the partnership agreement development process.

This brief assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on kinship care; it also defines kinship care and the role that kinship caregivers play in their respective families. Ways to support kinship caregivers are illustrated, including increased funding support and temporary changes in licensing requirements.

This blogpost illustrates the challenges of accessing child care during the COVID-19 pandemic among different groups of parents -– essential workers, parents working from home and struggling to balance family and job responsibilities, and parents who may have income changes that affected their eligibility under federal Child Care Development Fund vouchers. The blogpost also identifies challenges facing child care providers as they implement new safety procedures and adjust to the shifting needs of their clients. The blogpost synthesizes earlier research findings of studies from the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency project and offers five strategies, drawn from innovative child care agencies, to address the need for increased access to child care in a pandemic work environment.

This Child Trends two-brief series highlights information on access to care for homeless children and families. The first brief, Facilitating Access to Early Care and Education for Children Experiencing Homelessness, covers barriers to accessing early care and education among families experiencing homelessness and how states and communities can increase early care and education enrollment of children experiencing homelessness. The second brief, Leveraging Data to Identify Children Experiencing Homelessness, points to the challenges that states and communities encounter when using data to identify children experiencing homelessness who need early care and education.

This U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation report illustrates how much loss in economic activity results from breakdowns in childcare and early childhood education in Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. The report also covers the causes of childcare challenges and how parents choose childcare providers. There are also findings on what types of childcare benefits working parents would like to receive from employers to close the gap in accessing early childhood education.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for state, local, and tribal human services leaders serving children and families to provide a Whole Family response. To assist in this effort, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Regional Operations offers an updated list of resources, guidance, and tip sheets with information on ACF funding flexibilities and the whole family approach. This compendium includes:

• ACF Mandatory Program COVID-19 Program Flexibilities, Guidance and Resources (including information from the Office of Child Care, instructions on TANF allowable funds, letters and transmittal reports from the Children’s Bureau, and updates from the Office of Child Support Enforcement); and 

• Whole Family Approach to COVID-19 Response (including coverage about funding and flexibilities from Food and Nutrition Services programs, resources for working parents, and updates to funding resources for career and technical education programs and higher education institutions. There is also information about resources available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to address mental health and substance use disorders and behavioral health challenges as well as funding available at the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand rural health center and telehealth capacity. Support for homeless housing and rental assistance, families living in public housing, and families in need under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is also identified.)

This issue brief from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describes the provisions of the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA). EFMLEA was created by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to provide limited emergency paid family leave for employees to take time away from work (when telework is not an option) if their children’s child care providers or schools are closed due to COVID-19. This brief also identifies considerations for facilitating lower income workers’ participation in EFMLEA and the availability of resources under this law. To support EFMLEA’s utilization, the brief highlights immediate education efforts to support parents in understanding eligibility and other requirements of this provision. There is also guidance on how to engage low-wage employers in EFMLEA awareness and the administrative requirements for compliance.

Initiating and maintaining improvements in early care and education (ECE) programs can be challenging, due to factors such as staffing shortages, turnover, and ineffective organizational structures. To address this challenge, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) funded the Culture of Continuous Learning (CCL) Project, which tests the feasibility of initiating a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) in child care and Head Start programs that serve children from diverse income and racial/ethnic backgrounds. This OPRE Issue Brief illustrates how and why the BSC is anticipated to support improvements and the factors facilitating long-term change.