Early Childhood Resources

REPORTS  

Policy Concept Child Care Quality Activities
Policy concept paper developed by the Texas Workforce Commission developed in September 2005 and acted upon in December 2005 providing rationale for changes in state agency child care rules relating to quality improvement activities.

Effective Early Childhood Programs: Turning Knowledge Into Action   
Susan H. Landry
This recently released book has 10 chapters focusing on the foundation of early childhood education, elements of preschool education, the learning environment, and much more. Dr. Susan H. Landry is the primary author with contributions made by Dr. Alvin Tarlov, Lois Kerschen, Laura Lomax-Bream, and Michelle Precourt Debbink. The publication has received a lot of great responses and is a great resource for anyone in the early education or other child related fields.  

The Report of the State Center for Early Childhood Development
In September of 2003, the Texas State Legislature gave the State Center for Early Childhood Development the charge of promoting school readiness. Senate Bill 76 called for the State Center to convene an advisory committee and test out integration of early care and education services for preschool children. This project is currently in 15 communities across Texas: Raymondville, Dallas, Brownsville, Laredo, Austin, El Paso, Wichita Falls, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Amarillo, and Houston, Zapata, Abilene, Midland/Odessa, and Kilgore. "The Report of the State Center for Early Childhood Development" includes information about the Texas Early Education Model and first year findings.  

Go Where They Are, Working with Child Care Programs to Reach California's Uninsured Children
Go Where They Are is a publication of the 100% Campaign, a collaborative of Children Now, Children’s Defense Fund, and the Children’s Partnership, prepared by Children’s Defense Fund California. This report was written to advance a partnership between the child care and health care fields to improve health care coverage among children.

National Child Care Information Center Selected Resources on Financing
A compilation of child care financing resources prepared by the National Child Care Information Center. The list has information about innovative approaches to increase and improve child care financing nationally and in states and communities. 

The Future of Children-Caring for Infants and Toddlers: Analysis and Recommendations
This journal issue is about the care of our youngest children, those who have not yet turned three.

Getting Help with Child Care Expenses-The Urban Institute
This analysis explores how much help employed families get with child care expenses and the types of help they receive. The findings are presented for all employed families as a whole and for different groups of families—low-income families, families with preschool-age children, and so on. The paper also examines the relationship between child care help and child care expenses. Includes Texas-specific data.

Business & Early Care and Education: A Review of the Literature & a Connecticut Case Example
A new report prepared by Connecticut Voices for Children examines business engagement with early childhood education.

Population Projections for Texas through 2040

PROJECTS

The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project
Ground breaking long-term study on the effects of early childhood education on 123 African Americans born in poverty and at risk of failing school.

The Carolina Abecedarian Project
A controlled study from North Carolina on the benefits of early childhoood education for poor children.

TOOL KITS & FACT SHEETS

Fact Sheet on Infants and Toddlers in Texas
The National Infant and Toddler Child Care Initiative at ZERO TO THREE has developed a fact sheet on Texas children ages birth to three years of age, their families, and the child care system that serves them. 

2005 Child Care and Head Start Organizer's Toolkit
Children's Defense Fund has released the 2005 tookkit with the informationa and materials you need to help organize your community in support of quality child care, after school programs, and Head Start experiences. The materials will help you spread the word to other early childhood education advocates and help you get the message to Congress about the need for America's families to have affordable, high quality child care and early education experiences.