Early Childhood System Building Strategies

From 2019 to 2023, Child Trends served as the evaluator of North Carolina PDG B-5 program. Our research provided insights on:

• Whether the activities funded by PDG B-5 resulted in the intended improvements and outcomes to support the strengthening of the ECE system
• What is needed to grow or sustain PDG B-5 activities and inform future work in North Carolina

During this time, Child Trends also conducted three in-depth evaluations on topics of interest to the state: transition to kindergarten, family engagement and leadership, and data system improvements.

A separate team at Child Trends partnered with North Carolina to study the feasibility of supporting more infant and toddler care through the state’s PDG B-5 grant. The research team identified existing challenges related to current supply and demand for infant and toddler care in North Carolina, designed a Birth to Three Early Learning Pilot program, and estimated the per child cost for the program.

As Georgia’s research partner for the state’s PDG B-5 from 2019 to 2023, Child Trends supported Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) in key ways:

• We evaluated several initiatives, including:
  • The DECAL Scholars program that supports early childhood educators
  • The Trainer Approval System that determines who can provide state-approved professional development
  • The new Language and Literacy Endorsement, which recognizes programs that are in the QRIS and engage in targeted efforts to improve language and literacy instruction
• As the COVID-19 pandemic started, Child Trends supported DECAL’s transition to remote support and quality assessments for programs in their QRIS and evaluated its implementation.
• Child Trends also supported DECAL’s Annual Program Performance Evaluation, providing training to DECAL staff on survey methods.

Once North Dakota received its PDG B-5 grant in 2019, Child Trends partnered with the state on strategic planning for using the funds to make improvements across the B-5 system.

• Child Trends gathered information about how families, teachers, and school leaders understand school readiness to inform instructional supports in early childhood and into kindergarten.
• Our research team evaluated existing pathways to quality improvement across the state, specifically focused on the state’s QRIS, Bright & Early.
• We provided consultation to North Dakota’s Department of Public Instruction and key early childhood leaders on maximizing parent knowledge and choice in early care and education, sharing best practices within the B-5 system, and improving overall quality through assessments and shared data.
• A separate Child Trends team led North Dakota’s program performance evaluation.

Child Trends—in partnership with Early Milestones Colorado and Marzano Research Institute—worked with the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in 2019 to develop a strategic plan for the state’s early childhood system as part of its PDG B-5.

• Using PDG B-5, the state aimed to improve its efficient use of resources, coordinate funding streams, enhance information technology systems, and increase parental choice and knowledge.
• With these goals in mind, Child Trends developed a strategic plan by aligning existing state and local early childhood system plans and gathering feedback from about 1,300 parents and more than 225 early childhood stakeholders across Colorado.
• The resulting strategic plan informed Colorado’s efforts to strengthen partnerships and expand participation in the mixed-delivery early childhood system.