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Early Childhood Systems Building: National Initiatives

As States have concentrated on improving the quality of early care and education, they have begun to systematically coordinate and restructure the system of providing and supporting early care and education. There has been increased collaboration that has resulted in development of early childhood systems that function across programs and agencies. Key stakeholders have included agencies that address educational services, child care subsidies, child care licensing, special education, health and social services, nutritional services, parent education and participation, program evaluation, and staff development. Leadership has come from various sources, including governors, legislators, and key players in State agencies. 

The following is a sample of federally funded and private initiatives that support State leaders in building comprehensive, coordinated early childhood systems. The samples do not include all initiatives, but are meant to represent a range of approaches that support State leaders in building comprehensive, coordinated early childhood systems. Additional resources are available via NCCIC’s Library, which can be accessed at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?do=oll.search. NCCIC does not endorse any organization, publication, or resource.

Federally Funded Initiatives

  • Partnerships, Alliances, and Coordination Techniques (PACT)
    800-616-2242
    World Wide Web: nccic.acf.hhs.gov/pact/index.html

    PACT is an initiative of the National Child Care Information Center (NCCIC), a service of the Child Care Bureau. PACT provides State, Territory, and Tribal policy-makers—particularly Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administrators and their partners—the resources, training, and technical assistance they need to build more comprehensive and collaborative early care and education systems to better serve children and families. For example, PACT resources will help CCDF administrators learn how to take leadership roles in creating, implementing, and sustaining cross-system partnerships, and how to manage and evaluate partnerships to ensure long-term outcomes. PACT partnership materials will include print and Web-based materials and technical assistance tools.

  • Project THRIVE
    646-284-9633
    World Wide Web: www.nccp.org/projects/thrive.html

    Project THRIVE is a public policy analysis and education initiative for infants and young children at the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), funded  through a cooperative agreement with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. THRIVE’s mission is to ensure that young children and their families have access to high-quality health care, child care and early learning, early intervention, and parenting supports by providing policy analysis and research syntheses that can inform State efforts to strengthen and expand State early childhood comprehensive systems.

  • State Maternal and Child Health Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (SECCS) Grants Program
    301-443-2778
    World Wide Web: www.state-eccs.org/

    The SECCS grant program supports States and communities in developing statewide, integrated, community-based, multiagency plans for systems of care to improve infant and child health. Critical components include access to health insurance and medical homes; mental health and social-emotional development, and early care and education/child care; parent education; and family support. A list of SECCS grantee Web sites is available at www.state-eccs.org/webs.htm.

Private Initiatives

  • Build Initiative
    304-776-2940
    World Wide Web: www.buildinitiative.org/index.html

    The Build Initiative is a partnership with five grantee States—Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. State partners engage diverse teams of stakeholders to plan statewide, coordinated early learning systems. They share what they learn with others through the Build Learning Community. Four learning partner States—Hawaii, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Washington—were added to the Build Initiative in 2003. They participate in Learning Community activities, such as conference calls and in-person meetings, with the Build grantee States. The Build Initiative’s mission is to help each State build a coordinated system of programs, policies, and services that responds to the needs of families; carefully uses public and private resources; and effectively prepares young children for successful futures. One area of interest to Build States is that of financing of early learning systems.

  • National Governor’s Association (NGA)
    Building Early Childhood Systems
    202-624-5300
    World Wide Web: www.nga.org/portal/site/nga

    The NGA Center for Best Practices is currently funding governors’ offices in three States to support State leaders in building comprehensive, coordinated early childhood (birth to age 5) systems. Montana, New Jersey, and South Carolina were selected to receive intensive technical assistance from the center and up to $50,000 to support in-State meetings and consultants for 2 years. Additional States were funded in June 2007 to focus on policies that address the needs of at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia will receive $10,000 grants to support Governors’ Summits on Early Childhood. Additional information is available on the Web at NGA's web site.

  • Smart Start’s National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC)
    919-821-9540
    World Wide Web: www.ncsmartstart.org/ntac/

    NTAC provides assistance to States and localities that are working to assure that every child arrives at school healthy and ready to succeed. NTAC shares Smart Start’s expertise, successes, and lessons learned with individuals, organizations, communities, and States, guiding them through the process of creating and furthering early childhood systems that best fit the needs, resources, and cultural realities of their regions.

  • Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK)
    W.K. Kellogg Foundation
    269-968-1611
    World Wide Web: www.sparkkids.org/

    SPARK is a national initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to help communities unite resources to better prepare children for school. Seeking both “ready children” and “ready schools,” SPARK is supporting 5-year implementation plans of grantees in seven States and Washington, DC, to smooth the transition to school and align preschool and elementary school settings. SPARK involves partnerships of communities, State agencies, and schools. Together, these partners will provide comprehensive support to youngsters.
    Grantees include:
    District of Columbia – National Black Child Development Institute
    Florida – Early Childhood Initiative Foundation
    Georgia – Smart Start Georgia
    Hawaii – Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture
    Mississippi – Children’s Defense Fund/Black Community Crusade for Children
    New Mexico – New Mexico Community Foundation
    North Carolina – Smart Start/North Carolina Partnership for Children
    Ohio – Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton

  • United Way Success By Six®
    703-836-7112, ext. 262
    World Wide Web: http://national.unitedway.org/sb6/

    United Way Success By 6 is a national, community-based movement of public and private partners that work together to deliver proven solutions that ensure all children birth to age 6 are healthy, nurtured, and ready to succeed. In more than 350 cities throughout the United States and Canada, Success By 6 is creating effective, community-based solutions that improve the quality of life for young children. These efforts address system barriers, enhancing research-based strategies, and mobilizing the community. Information about how to contact local United Way agencies is available on the Web at http://national.unitedway.org/myuw/.

Updated September 2007

 
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