Building Community Systems for Young Children: Early Childhood Education. Building State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Series, Number 11

This report examines the importance and funding sources of early child care and education (ECE), and the ways in which the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (SECCS) Initiative improves early childhood outcomes. Section I presents what is known about the importance of ECE, quality and access. Section II describes the current funding sources of ECE and presents examples of recent efforts to merge the often distinct child care sector and early education sector into a more integrated system. Section III presents a broader vision of how early care and education providers can help promote positive parenting and link parents with needed services. Increasingly there is attention to ways that early care and education arrangements can be enhanced to either provide or to serve as a link to the parenting supports and health care that families with young children may need. Because child care providers are often the professionals with training in early childhood development who interact most frequently with parents of young children, these providers can serve as one entry point into the broader early childhood service system. Section IV concludes the report with recommendations for: (1) improving access to quality ECE programs; and (2) increasing capacity of ECE providers to play an expanded role for young children and families. The following are appended: (1) Head Start; (2) Healthy Child Care America; (3) Good Start, Grow Smart; and (4) Informational Resources. (Contains 77 footnotes.) [This paper was adapted from: D. Stipek and T. Ogawa, "Early Childhood Education," in N. Halfon, E. Shulman, M. Hochstein and M. Shannon, eds. "Building Community Systems for Young Children," UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities, 2000 (ED467316).]