State Trends in Advancing Early Learning for At-Risk

ChildrenEducation Writers Association Conference

May 18th, 2012

Harriet DichterVice President, National Policy

Ounce of Prevention Fundhdichter@ounceofprevention.org

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Overview

• The Ounce National Policy Team• Takeaways: Public Investments in Early

Learning for At-Risk Children • Federal and 50-State Trends• Cross-State Trends on Child Care, PreK, Home

Visiting, and Head Start• State-Specific Highlights: Progress and

Challenges• Hot Topic: Kindergarten Entry Assessments• What’s on the Horizon for Early Learning?

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The Ounce of Prevention Fund

Our Mission:• To give children in poverty the best chance for success

in school and in life by advocating for and providing the highest quality care and education from birth to age five.

Our Approach: • Practice • Research• Professional development• Policy advocacy

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The Ounce National Policy TeamThe National Policy Team partners with and supports early childhood leaders in states as

they advance a comprehensive agenda for at-risk children and families. Throughout today’s presentation we refer to these as the PAR or Peer Advocate Roundtable states.

Arizona CaliforniaColoradoWashington, D.C.

Florida

IllinoisKansasMaine

MichiganMississippi

NebraskaNew Mexico

New YorkOklahomaOregon

WashingtonWisconsin

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National Policy: To Protect & Grow Public Investment & Improve Public Policy

1. Strategic, Substantive Consultation Practice with Leaders in Select States (Peer Advocate Roundtable or PAR)

2. Peer Learning Network of State Advocacy & Educare Leaders 3. Educare as a Platform for Policy Change 4. Policy Analysis and Dissemination

Strategic Consultation

Peer Learning

EducarePolicy Analysis and

Dissemination

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Takeaway 1: Federal Investment • Core federal investments in early learning for at-

risk children are flat (Child Care) or higher (Head Start) post-recession than pre-recession

BUT • The recession increased the number of at-risk

children• Federal investments are STILL insufficient to

meet need

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Takeaway 2: State Investment in PAR States • States continue to struggle since the recession to

adequately invest in at-risk children • 14 of the 17 PAR states unable to sustain funding

consistently BUT

• Some states largely sustaining all funding in FY12 and proposed FY13

AND • States may be working on non-monetary

changes to support early childhood

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Takeaway 3: Significant Gaps Persist • Not enough eligible children can participate in

programs• About 17% in child care• About 25% in preschool Head Start• About 3% in Early (infant-toddler) Head Start• About 3% in high-quality home visiting

• Not enough invested on a per child basis to assure the quality that produces impactful outcomes

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Federal Trends: Child Care & Head Start

FY 2005 FY 2006 FY 2007 FY2008 FY 2009 and ARRA

FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013 President's

Request

$0

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$5,000,000

$6,000,000

$7,000,000

$8,000,000

$9,000,000

$10,000,000

$2.1B $2.1B $2.1B $2.1B

$4.1B

$2.1B $2.9B $2.1B

$3.1B

$6.8B $6.8B $6.9B $6.9B

$9.2B

$7.2B $7.5B$7.9B

$8.0B

Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Head StartFiscal Year (FY) 2005-Present

Note: Numbers not adjusted for inflation

CCDBG Head Start

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State Spending on PreK (50 States)

Longitudinal spending for each state, FY2002-2011, via Google Motion

PAR State Policy Trends: Child Care

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FY2007-2011

AZ CA CO FL IL KS ME MI MS NE NM NY OK OR WA WI$0

$500,000,000

$1,000,000,000

$1,500,000,000

$2,000,000,000

$2,500,000,000

$3,000,000,000

$3,500,000,000

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

PAR State Policy Trends: Child Care

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FY2012 and 13•FY12 - Level investment or cuts to child care:

•Most PAR states reduced investments, which occur as:•Across-the-board reductions•Reduced income eligibility limits•Increased parent costs•Decreased reimbursement• Quality infrastructure

•Some held funding level or enacted smaller cuts than originally proposed (e.g., CA and IL)

•OR was the only PAR state to increase funding •FY13 - Proposed or enacted cuts:

•Deeper cuts proposed than FY12, especially AZ and CA•Some, like FL, held funding level•Others increased (NM) or restored (WA) investments

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PAR State Policy Trends: PreKFY2007-2011

AZ CA CO FL IL KS ME MI NE NM NY OK OR WA WI$0

$50,000,000

$100,000,000

$150,000,000

$200,000,000

$250,000,000

$300,000,000

$350,000,000

$400,000,000

$450,000,000

20072008200920102011

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PAR State Policy Trends: PreKFY 2012 and FY 2013

•FY12 - reduced funding for PreK: •Many reduced funding, usually by reducing per-child expenditures

•Only two (OR, WA) increased investment• FY13 - a mixed bag in PAR states:

•Further cuts proposed in AZ, CA, IL •Increases (MI, NM, NY) or restoration (IL) proposed in several states

•More increases to PreK than child care among the PAR states

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PAR State Policy Trends: Home Visiting FY2007-2011

AZ CO FL IL KS ME MI NE NM NY OK OR WA WI$0

$5,000,000

$10,000,000

$15,000,000

$20,000,000

$25,000,000

$30,000,000

$35,000,000

20072008200920102011

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PAR State Policy Trends: Home Visiting FY 2012 and FY 2013

•Home visiting garnering increased attention•2010 federal five-year, $1.5B Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) created first federal funding streams

•FY 12 - level or increased funding•Increases in MI (one-time), WA •FL, NY, ME, WI successfully held funding level (even after proposals to cut it)

•Cuts for IL, OK• FY 13 - proposed or enacted

•Increased funding in NM•FL and NY maintain funding •For the second year in a row, IL and ME are fighting against significant cuts

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PAR State Policy Trends: State Investment in Head Start/Early Head Start

FY 2012 and FY 2013• 4 PAR states have/have had state-funded Head

Start (HS): ME, NM, OK, WI• 2 have state-funded Early Head Start (EHS): KS,

OR • State investments in HS and EHS rarely more

than $10M• Increasingly hard to sustain – WI and KS both

suffered cuts in FY12, but OR restored a shortfall; proposed cuts in ME in FY13

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State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Arizona

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$20,000,000

$40,000,000

$60,000,000

$80,000,000

$100,000,000

$120,000,000

$140,000,000

$160,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

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State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Progress:• First Things First - financed with 80 cents cigarettes for

education and health, dedicated to early childhood. •Sales Tax initiative on the November ballot for preschool, state match for child care subsidy, and restore KidsCare (health insurance).

Challenges: •Last year, a ballot initiative threatened to eliminate First Things First.

•No state funding for child care or PreK proposed for FY 13. •KidsCare (state children’s health insurance program) has been frozen.

Arizona

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California

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$500,000,000

$1,000,000,000

$1,500,000,000

$2,000,000,000

$2,500,000,000

$3,000,000,000

$3,500,000,000

Child CarePreK

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California

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Progress:•October 2011-First 5 State Commission allocated $45M a year for 3 years to systematically support high quality in child care/early learning through Child Signature Program

•California participating in Round 1 Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge funds.

Challenges: •California has proposed significant and devastating cuts to Child Care and PreK in FY12 and 13.

•California has proposed removal of early learning from consolidated governance at Department of Education and into a devolved county social services structure.

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Illinois

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$100,000,000

$200,000,000

$300,000,000

$400,000,000

$500,000,000

$600,000,000

$700,000,000

$800,000,000

$900,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

23

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Progress:•Illinois has leveraged Education funding through an Early Childhood Block Grant for preschool and home visiting; a 20% set-aside for infants and toddlers.

•Illinois to participate in next round of Race to the Top: Early Learning Challenge.

•Illinois a state leader for home visiting, prior to Affordable Care Act federal funding.

Challenges: •Illinois structural deficit is significant: consistent cuts to child care, PreK, and Home Visiting over the past few years.

•In May 2012, Department of Human Services announced it would not be able to pay child care for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Illinois

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Kansas

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$20,000,000

$40,000,000

$60,000,000

$80,000,000

$100,000,000

$120,000,000

Child CarePreKEHSHome Visiting

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State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Progress:•In 2008, Kansas Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) created at $11.8M with funding from tobacco revenue; at least 30% earmarked for infant and toddler programs (including some of KEHS)

•THE ECBG awards grants to create new services, expand current high-quality services or enhance existing services in order to increase the range of evidence-based programs that serve at-risk children ages birth to five.

Challenges: •Progressively lower tobacco revenues and a conservative political environment have threatened the block grant -especially Kansas Early Head Start - for the past two years.

Kansas

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Maine

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

$14,000,000

$16,000,000

$18,000,000

$20,000,000

Child CarePreKHSHome Visiting

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State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Progress:• Strong Quality Rating and Improvement System• Successful preservation of home visiting commitment

Challenges: • In FY13, Gov. LePage’s proposed budget eliminates all

state child care funding and state Head Start funding, and reduces home visiting funds by $2.6M.

Maine

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Michigan

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$50,000,000

$100,000,000

$150,000,000

$200,000,000

$250,000,000

$300,000,000

$350,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

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State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Progress:•The Governor’s FY13 budget preserves or increases all early childhood programs; legislature proposed increasing PreK by $10M. •New Office of Great Start within the Michigan Department of Education to improve early childhood and streamline funding.

Challenges: •Resource development•Need strong focus on improving the quality of early learning programs

Michigan

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Oregon

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

31

State-Specific Highlights: Progress and Challenges

Oregon

Progress:•One of a few states to increase investment in early childhood programs, e.g. $1M for EHS in FY2011

•Gov. Kitzhaber has merged education planning from birth through college under the Oregon Investment Board; clear set of priorities for early learning.

•Oregon to participate in next round of Early Learning Challenge

Challenges: • Resource development

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State-Specific Trends Colorado

• Will participate in next round of Early Learning Challenge• Hickenlooper administration publicly supportive of EC• Strong EC philanthropic community • Proposal to create new early childhood office did not make it through the legislature• Taxpayer Bill of Rights limits state revenue growth • Strong local control results in inequitable policies across counties and limits statewide policy development

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

$70,000,000

$80,000,000

$90,000,000

$100,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

33

State-Specific Trends Florida

•Has managed to hold most funding level •Recent legislative battles over quality requirements in CC licensing •Conservative environment

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$100,000,000

$200,000,000

$300,000,000

$400,000,000

$500,000,000

$600,000,000

$700,000,000

$800,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

34

State-Specific Trends Mississippi

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$20,000,000

$40,000,000

$60,000,000

$80,000,000

$100,000,000

$120,000,000

Child Care

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State-Specific Trends Nebraska

In 2006, legislation passed to create the Sixpence Early Childhood Endowment, more than half of which goes to home

visiting programs.

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

$70,000,000

$80,000,000

$90,000,000

$100,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

36

State-Specific Trends New Mexico

• New Mexico to participate in next round of Early Learning Challenge• The NM PreK Program started in 2005• NM recreating its Quality Rating and Improvement System 

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$10,000,000

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

$70,000,000

$80,000,000

$90,000,000

$100,000,000

Child CarePreKHSHome Visiting

37

State-Specific Trends New York

• Good progress linking EC to K-12 RTT efforts• Strong support for home visiting • Little to no revenue growth• Little to no prek program expansion • Lack of investment in statewide QRIS rollout

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$100,000,000

$200,000,000

$300,000,000

$400,000,000

$500,000,000

$600,000,000

$700,000,000

$800,000,000

$900,000,000

$1,000,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

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State-Specific Trends Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Early Childhood Pilot Program provides comprehensive, full-day, full-year services for at-risk children

aged zero to four.

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$50,000,000

$100,000,000

$150,000,000

$200,000,000

$250,000,000

$300,000,000

$350,000,000

Child Care

PreK

HS

Home Visiting

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State-Specific Trends Washington

• Increased PreK funding in FY12, cut child care but restored income eligibility to 200% FPL in the FY13 budget.

• Developed a 0-3 plan at the request of the legislature• Participating in the Early Learning Challenge

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$50,000,000

$100,000,000

$150,000,000

$200,000,000

$250,000,000

$300,000,000

$350,000,000

$400,000,000

$450,000,000

Child CarePreKHome Visiting

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State-Specific Trends Wisconsin

•QRIS program, YoungStar, recently initiated with good support•Reduced Head Start support in FY2012 to $6.3 M, down by 10%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011$0

$50,000,000

$100,000,000

$150,000,000

$200,000,000

$250,000,000

$300,000,000

$350,000,000

$400,000,000

Child CarePreKHSHome Visiting

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Hot Topic: Kindergarten Entry Assessments•Designed to assess readiness for kindergarten across all domains of child development. Purposes are to:

•provide information to parents and families about their children’s developing skills

•give teachers data-driven feedback to better equip them to meet the diverse needs of children in their classrooms

•target professional development offerings•inform state-level policy decisions and investments

•A competitive priority in the Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) competition

•13 out of the 17 PAR states have or are pursuing a KEA •7 have a KEA – of these, 5 are local and 2 are statewide •6 are pursuing a KEA

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Hot Topic: Kindergarten Entry Assessments•Emerging as a funded initiative in non-Challenge states

•Potential concern with current approach:•States not investing the necessary resources for quality improvement and professional development necessary for programs to improve and best meet needs of children

•States not necessarily paying attention to context of family background as a factor in KEA

•States isolating KEA from other developmentally appropriate assessment for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, as well as early grades

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What’s on the Horizon for Early Learning?

Continued Challenges to the Work: •Doubt & ignorance about the science•Values

•Independence, or self-reliance•Family privacy and responsibility, especially for infants and toddlers

•The bootstrap mentality •Federal funding through Child Care and Head Start/Early Head Start remains core- little real progress being made in growing core funding

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What’s on the Horizon for Early Learning?

Challenges (cont.) • Early Learning Challenge critically important for new

strategy• quality as the baseline for public investment• not yet an ongoing funding stream

• Quality Rating and Improvement System and KEA as state trends; impact potentially undercut by inadequate investment for appropriate design implementation and evaluation

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What’s on the Horizon for Early Learning?

Challenges (cont.) • Strategies to successfully reach infants and toddlers,

dual language learners with quality early learning

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Thank you!

For more information:

Harriet DichterVice President, National Policy

Ounce of Prevention Fundhdichter@ounceofprevention.org

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References

•“2011 Yearbook Interactive Data.” National Institute for Early Education Research. Accessed 2 May 2012. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ApWD2cb39EW9dGZLZDZjSG5PcnlIVXlCT0l6UzJ0OEE&output=html

•“Average State Spending per Child Enrolled (2011 Dollars).” National Institute for Early Education Research. Accessed 4 May 2012. http://www.nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/content/images/Average%20State%20Spending%20per%20Child%20Enrolled%20%282011%20Dollars%29_0.jpg.

• Council of Chief State School Officers. “Moving Forward with Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Efforts.” June 2011. http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/CCSSO_K-Assessment_Final_7-12-11.pdf.

• Daily, Sarah, Mary Burkhauser and Tamara Hall. “A Review of School Readiness Practices in the States: Early Learning Guidelines and Assessments.” Early Childhood Highlights, Vol. 1, Issue 3 17 Jun 2010. Child Trends.

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References (cont.)•“Early Care and Education Budget Actions.” National Conference of State Legislatures. Accessed 2 May 2012. http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/human-services/early-care-and-education-state-budget-actions-fy20.aspx.

•Pew Center on the States. “States and the New Federal Home Visiting Initiative: An Assessment from the Starting Line.” Aug 2011. http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Home_Visiting/Home_Visiting_August_2011_Report.pdf.

•Stedron, Jennifer and Alexander Berger. “NCSL Technical Report: State Approaches to School Readiness Assessment.” National Conference of State Legislatures. August 2010. http://www.ncsl.org/documents/Educ/KindergartenAssessment.pdf.