INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE – NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCILBOARD ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES

The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce: February 28, 2011 Workshop

Learning from State Data

Harriet DichterFirst Five Years Fund

hdichter@ffyf.org202-569-0311 cell202-248-5075 office

About the First Five Years Fund

• FFYF provides knowledge, data, and advocacy—persuading federal policymakers to make investments in the first five years of a child’s life that create greater returns for all.

• Our goal is to create, grow and improve public investment and policy to improve outcomes for at-risk infants, toddlers and preschoolers that:– Leverages resources toward the goal of improved child outcomes– Implements high-quality and evidenced-based practices – Includes necessary investments in infrastructure– Achieves coherence in areas such as standards, assessment,

curriculum, professional development and qualifications, and family engagement across funding streams

– Provides families with options to access to high-quality practices – Addresses the comprehensive needs of at-risk children

Pennsylvania as a Case Study

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) promotes opportunities for all Pennsylvania children and families by building systems and providing supports that help ensure access to high quality child and family services. The Office is a joint initiative of the Departments of Education & Public Welfare

Programs of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning

Certification Services:n Licensing and Inspection of child

care facilities

Subsidy Services:n Child Care Worksn Parent Counseling and

Referral Services

Early Intervention Services:n Infant/Toddler Early Interventionn Preschool Early Interventionn Early Intervention Technical

Assistance

Early Learning Services:n Pennsylvania Pre-K Countsn Keystone STARSn PA Early Learning Keys to Qualityn Full Day Kindergartenn Head Start State Supplementaln Family Support Programs

Programs of the Office of Child Development and Early Learning

• Finance, Administration & Planning– Planning

– Research & Evaluation

– Information Technology Coordination

– Budget & Financial Management Coordination

– Administration (Human Resources, Office Management)

– Communications & Policy Support

PELICAN and Early Learning Network

• Office focus on improving early learning for children and the outcomes from participation in early learning

• Data a major enabler to achieve this goal through:– Updating the information management system—

Pennsylvania’s Enterprise to Link Information for Children Across Networks (PELICAN)—with the goal of better supporting ALL of the state’s early childhood programs.

– Creating the Early Learning Network (ELN) to enable better evaluation of and support for program decisions at all levels. ELN is designed to improve the effectiveness and availability of state early childhood programs and to provide more specific information about teachers and children in the program

Early Learning Network: Assessment & Accountability

– Assessment & accountability are critical to the PA Approach, in general, especially• Systems Planning, Monitoring

and Accountability• Support to Meet & Maintain

Standards• Data to Guide Program

Improvement

– Early Learning Network (ELN) & PELICAN are core in this context, with a focus on approach assessment & accountability, including quality improvement

AssessmentAcuntability

Accountability

Elements of Assessment & Accountability Currently as a Floor to this Approach

Already in place at start of the process:

nRegular Program Monitoring & Site Visits

nEnvironmental Rating Scales & Independent Third Party Review

nQualitative Feedback from Providers & Stakeholders

nStrong Program Design, Clear Standards & Expectations, & Ongoing Support to Meet Standards & Expectations

nPerformance Measures & Targets

Early Learning Network Values

One reporting system reflecting results of

authentic assessment used across programs,

aligning with Pennsylvania’s early learning standards

A standard system to be used by and

coordinated among all of the Office of

Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) programs (e.g., Pre-K Counts, Early Intervention,

Head Start, Keystone STARs)

A comprehensive data system designed to integrate financial,

program, teacher, family and child

information

Early Learning Network

OCDEL Quality Early Education Continuum: • All OCDEL’s quality program: PA Pre-K Counts, Head Start, Keystone

STARS (QRIS) child care programs (center- and family-based), Nurse Family partnership, Early Intervention from birth through 5, Parent-Child Home Program

Information Collected:• Child outcomes (as reported using the Work Sampling System online or

Ounce online), 3 times per year• Child and family demographics• Teacher qualifications and experience• Program quality as scored on appropriate Environmental Rating Scales• Program demographics, including salaries and benefits for staff

Early Learning Network and Its Connections

Connections to K-12 and Other Assessment/Accountability and Data Systems:

• Links with PIMS, which is the K-12 data collection system

• Could link to data systems such as child welfare; health; juvenile justice; or other areas of interest.

Secure ID’s for Children and Teachers and Aides: • Children and teachers are assigned unique secure IDs to

enhance information exchange while protecting confidentiality

8 Benefits of the Early Learning Network

1. Parents receive feedback on how well their young children are progressing in their early childhood program.

2. The child assessment approach is designed to benefit all OCDEL’s early childhood programs.

3. This approach institutionalizes the cross-agencynature of OCDEL by integrating both the professional development and information technology systems.

8 Benefits of the Early Learning Network

4. Helps to improve professional development and the technical assistance system

5. Avoids multiple assessments of children6. Allows development of a unique pool of data to prove the

soundness of Pennsylvania’s investments in early childhood7.Helps dentify which early childhood programs best support

development for particular types of children and which type and level of program (e.g., length of day, amount of services) best meet children’s needs

8. Adhere to OCDEL’s cross-agency mission focus on the needs of children and parents, rather than program silos

Early Learning Network and PELICAN

• ELN is embedded in PELICAN

• PELICAN is:Pennsylvania’s Enterprise to Link Information for Children across Networks (PELICAN) - A single integrated information system that automates and supports all PA’s early learning & education programs

• PELICAN spans the continuum of early childhood services-Pre-K Counts, Keystone STARS, Child Care Works Subsidy, 0-5 Early Intervention, etc.

Implementation Strategy PELICAN

• Established a centralized repository for all child care providers in Commonwealth

• Automated Provider and Resource and Referral management

• Established a centralized repository for all child care providers in Commonwealth

• Automated Provider and Resource and Referral management

Provider Management

(2002)

Provider Management

(2002)

Enrollment & Financial

Management(2003- 04)

Enrollment & Financial

Management(2003- 04)

• Centralized funds and wait-list management for OCDEL

• Automated enrollments, payments, funds management and reporting

Integrated TANF, FS Child Care

(2007)

Integrated TANF, FS Child Care

(2007)

• Integrated TANF, Food Stamps, and General Assistance Child Case into system

• Integrated TANF, Food Stamps, and General Assistance Child Case into system

Case Management & Eligibility

Determination (2006)

Case Management & Eligibility

Determination (2006)

• Automated eligibility determination for low-income and former TANF families

Implementation Strategy

• Established a centralized repository for all 3-4 year children participating in Pre Kindergarten program

• Established a centralized repository for all 3-4 year children participating in Pre Kindergarten program

PA Pre-K Counts(2007-08)

PA Pre-K Counts(2007-08)

BusinessIntelligence& Reporting

(2007-08)

BusinessIntelligence& Reporting

(2007-08)

• Data warehouseprovided fiscal, performance and statistical reports

• Executive Dashboardaggregated information at at the Statewide, County level

Provider Self Service

(2008)

Provider Self Service

(2008)

• Providers can update their own information at their convenience

• Prospective providers can apply for certificate of compliance

• Providers can update their own information at their convenience

• Prospective providers can apply for certificate of compliance

Provider Certification

(2008)

Provider Certification

(2008)

Client Self Service

(2008)

Client Self Service

(2008)

• Citizens can perform screening, apply for benefits and perform redetermination

• Parents can directly access information of providers offering child care services in their communities

• Automates Provider certification which included tracking inspections, complaints and issuing certificates

• Automates Provider certification which included tracking inspections, complaints and issuing certificates

Implementation Strategy

• Provider and Grants Management for Keys to Quality program

• Provider and Grants Management for Keys to Quality program

Keys To QualityProgram

(2009)

Keys To QualityProgram

(2009)

Early Learning Network(2009)

Early Learning Network(2009)

• Early Learning Network to pull together information across all child development programs in coordination with child outcome assessments

• Integrating with independent assessment tool

Early Intervention(2009-10)

Early Intervention(2009-10)

• Automating the assessment , service plan , financial management for the Infant Toddler & Pre-School program

PELICAN Early Learning Network

• ELN draws information from various existing PELICAN systems

• New ELN data elements are collected through new screens in HCSIS (for EI programs) and PELICAN PA Pre-K Counts (for all other programs)

• The same data elements are collected via new screens, but screens were built upon existing mapping and ‘look’ for user accessibility

Early Learning Network: A Phased Approach

• Phase 1 Planning/Feasibility Study- July 2007 through February 2008– Creation of the Early Learning Network blueprint, including

cost projections, analyzing current information systems, documenting business needs across programs, gaining information from stakeholders.

• Phase 2 System Design February 2008-July 2009– Finalize data elements and detailed technology design

– Focus on security/confidentiality requirements

Early Learning Network: A Phased Approach

• Phase 3 Pilot Roll Out July –September 2009– Early implementation with PA Pre-K Counts and

Early Intervention using assessment piece– September roll out to most center-based

programs: includes assessment and other child, teacher, program data

– Focus on training and on technical Assistance to early users

• Phase 4 Full Scale Implementation 2010– Implementation with remaining OCDEL programs,

family & home care providers

Early Learning Network: A Partnership

• Pennsylvania foundations contributed to the systems development for the Early Learning Network:– William Penn Foundation

– Grable Foundation

– Heinz Foundation

• Initial work also supported with federal Office of Special Education Program Grant

• IES grant support for linking to K-12 data system

• Advisory Committee established to assure ongoing stakeholder input

Planned Research Becomes Possible to Help Improve Outcomes for Children

Options for Research:• links between the learning environment,

teacher professional characteristics, and child development/outcomes.

• contextual effects inside the classroom to better understand how children’s peers may impact their development.

• the effects of mobility on the continuity of service and impact on performance outcomes since we can follow children.

Planned Research Becomes Possible to Help Improve Outcomes for Children

Options for Research:

• receiving multiple services—from a single provider, across multiple unaffiliated providers, and multiple services over time.

• multiple risks on performance outcomes in terms of the type and amount of risk exposure.

• spatial analysis with geo-coded child and provider information about access to high quality ECE.

• link between teacher qualifications and other professional characteristics on measures of classroom environment and student performance.

Some Concluding Thoughts

• Comprehensive approach adds value, makes the work more challenging to conceptualize, fund and possibly to implement.

• Few supports available to inform the work; constant invention and re-invention necessary.

• National work to provide financing and to promote concrete definitions, etc. and to have that be well disseminated and accepted, would be helpful.