Shaping Equitable Early Childhood Policy: Incorporating Inclusive Community Engagement Frameworks into Expanded Data Strategies

Data collected from across the child care and early education (CCEE) field, both during and prior to COVID-19, have been critical for identifying and scaling public resources to meet the increasing needs of children, families, early educators, and providers. Much of the data collected throughout the global health crisis demonstrated how the pandemic has exacerbated long-standing inequities for communities with low incomes. Central to closing this disconnect and moving toward a more equitable system are equitable community engagement frameworks that center and elevate the voices and needs of those who are directly impacted. By expanding data strategies to include the following recommendations and centering equitable community engagement frameworks as the core of these strategies, policymakers can have a lasting impact on how states support the range of CCEE needs across communities--and specifically within communities of color. Recommendations include: (1) Integrating data across state agencies to better understand and meet community needs and create aligned CCEE resources; (2) Using data to physically map resources through spatial analyses to gauge and increase equitable access to appropriate resources; and (3) Making data accessible, usable, and inclusive for practitioners, families, and advocates; not just researchers, administrators, policy analysts, and policymakers. States must prioritize funding to address the gaps and disconnects in how communities of color are engaged in decision making and the data processes that inform those decisions--both now and beyond COVID-19. [For the corresponding Fact Sheet, see ED617029.]