Why focus on Early Care and Education Programs?

By recent estimates, nearly 60% of all children under age 6 are in care out of their homes for at least part of the day. For children 0-3, the percentage is even higher: 75%. Because they reach a large proportion of families on a daily basis, early care and education staff can be both a critical early warning system to head off trouble when parents are under stress and a vehicle for helping parents build good parenting skills when they need it most. The uniquely close relationship between caregiver/teacher and parents of very young children, the daily opportunities for observation and learning with parents, the relationship between early childhood programs and other resources for young parents, and the fact that parents come there as "empowered consumers" rather than as clients or recipients of service made this seem like a promising universal strategy.

How can I learn more about the Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education Project?

The project is managed by CSSP staff Judy Langford and Nilofer Ahsan.

Is there support for this framework in the early childhood field?

At the same time that the Strengthening Families Through Early Care and Education project was being funded the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation also funded the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to explore this question. NAEYC's research included focus groups with ethnically diverse early childhood educators as well as a national survey of more than 1,800 professionals working in early child education. The responses were striking.

Ninety-seven percent of respondents listed themselves as willing to take a more active part in preventing child abuse and neglect.
Eighty-one percent believed that educators, of all professions, were best positioned to prevent child abuse and neglect.

For more information on the NAEYC study go to http://www.naeyc.org/profdev/support_teachers/default.asp

How were the exemplary early childhood programs in this study selected?

In the early stages of the project, CSSP

Convened an advisory committee with extensive knowledge about early care and education and child abuse and neglect prevention.
Hosted dialogue sessions at national conferences to present the CSSP framework and get feedback from practitioners in the field.
Held conversations in communities where partners are already coming together to address issues of enhancing early care and education.
Analyzed the extent to which the attributes of model early care and education programs that work in the area of abuse and neglect are reflected in existing quality standards, training, and policy in the field
Reviewed existing tools for integrating these attributes into program practice

CSSP implemented a national nomination process where individuals across the country were asked to nominate exemplary early care and education programs who support families as well as children. More than 100 program nominations were received from 38 states. Nominations were reviewed and a number of programs were asked to complete a lengthy survey and send background materials to give a clearer picture of their work related to the protective factors identified. 25 programs were selected for intensive 2-day site visits which included interviews with staff, program directors, and focus groups with parents. More than 250 parents in programs across the country participated in focus groups. Staff in programs took part in focus groups and interviews. Staff, parents and children were observed in program settings.

Are nominations for exemplary programs still being accepted?

Unfortunately CSSP has concluded the information gathering part of the Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education project. Any new call for nominations will be listed on this site and will be sent in an e-mail to the outreach list. To be added to this list please send an e-mail to Nilofer Ahsan (activate) with "add me to the Strengthening Families outreach list." You will then receive our occasional newsletter with updates on the project and any new call for programs.

What are the next steps for the Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education project?

CSSP plans to build on the knowledge gained through the first two years of the Strengthening Families through Early Care and Education project by:

Publishing materials and tools that programs can use to support their work in implementing this approach
Building on the national network of exemplary programs to create a technical assistance and support infrastructure for states and localities that are interested in supporting the capacity of local programs to do this work
Building effective links between early care and education and child welfare agencies and child abuse and neglect prevention advocates.
Continuing to disseminate information on what was learned through this project

Is there any evidence that this approach has an impact on child abuse and neglect rates?

The initial design and planning for this project examined what research could tell us about the protective factors correlated with child abuse and neglect and then explore the ways exemplary early care and education programs influence these protective factors.

The findings are supported by recently released results of a longitudinal study, conducted by Arthur Reynolds at the University of Wisconsin, of children and families served by a federally-funded program in Chicago. The Chicago program used resource coordinators to help parents receive the support and services they need to care for their children at home and to foster social support among parents. The 18 years of research show that children who attended the preschool intervention program, compared to those who did not, had a 52 percent lower rate of maltreatment by age 17.

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