Early Childhood Development A Conversation Joan Lombardi Childrens

Early Childhood Development: A Conversation Joan Lombardi Children’s Defense Fund Emerging Leaders® Spring Institute April, 2007

Let’s talk about……. . l Young children and ECD policies in the U. S. l What we need to do l ECD as a global movement

Measuring Child Well Being in Rich Countries UNICEF 2007

Low-Income Status Varies by Age Source: National Center for Children in Poverty. (2006). Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Birth to Age 18.

Percentage of income paid for care * Higher Income is over 200% of poverty, very low income is under 100% of poverty Source: Giannarelli and Barsimantov. (2000). Child Care Expenses of America’s Families. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

Historical Trends in ECD l K emerges at the turn of the 20 th century through state by state action, today over 98 percent coverage, half day but moving to full school day in many communities l Mid century- 50 s interest in nursery education, however mostly university based and private

The legacy of several roads…. . l l Early 60’s- interest in early development and civil rights leads to the establishment of Head Start for children in poverty Late 60 s and early 70 s- child care for working women grows, but comprehensive bill vetoed (no major legislation for almost 20 years) Mid 80’s, release of Perry preschool data and growth of state prek, continues today Health and family support (maternal and child health, parenting etc)

The past ten years…. l In the 90’s-growth of Head Start and child care, emergence of Early Head Start l 2000’s-focus on state prek and No Child Left Behind, flat funding for child care and Head Start l Today- growing interest in young children

Pieces begin to come together in the states l Unified Governance l Early Learning Standards l Quality Rating Systems l Prek into child care l Professional development

Early Childhood Development System Engagement & Outreach Coordinated Governance And Financing Across programs and connected to other systems To consumers, public and private sector Programs Guided by Program Standards and Early Learning Guidelines Children Ready for Success Comprehensive Services Monitoring and Improvement Health, Nutrition, Mental Health, Disability Services Parenting and Family Support Compliance with standards and ongoing technical support Professional Development Core competencies Access to Training and Higher Education, Credentialing

Investments in birth to five grows in the states l 0 -5 initiatives Smart Start and other public private partnerships l Preschool with a set aside- Illinois l Special infant and toddler initiatives California Paid Leave, Kansas EHS, Missouri Home Visiting, Help me Grow, Quality Child Care

A few words about preschool l Preschool as a term is broader than prek l Preschool is not just another grade in school, but should be a hub for comprehensive services l Beyond targeted vs universal- starting with all children in communities with high proportions of low income families l Despite growth, we have a long way to go… - In 2005 -06, 38 states invested in prekindergarten initiatives which enrolled 942, 766, spending nearly $3. 3 billion - While the number of 4 year olds served has grown, the number of 3 year olds has remained relatively stable - Quality varies across the states, nearly half the states do not meet the standard of requiring a BA or higher. Source of Prek data: The State of Preschool 2006, NIEER

Federal policies fail to keep up with what we know from science is important for early development and later success l l Too many families still not covered by FMLA, and of those covered, far too many cannot afford to take unpaid leave Head Start- only 60 % of the eligible Early Head Start, only 3 percent of the eligible served Child Care and Development Fund-only one in seven eligible served, limited investments in quality

With flat federal funding, number of children receiving child care assistance has declined Sources: Child Care Bureau and Analytic Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2008, slide by CLASP.

Time for a New National Investment in Early Childhood Development l l l Expand FMLA and provide incentives to states to provide paid leave Assure access to quality health care for all young children and their families and provide developmental screening and follow up Invest in Head Start 0 -5, with a special focus on expanding Early Head Start Transform child care to support working families and their children by assuring access to all families below 200 percent of poverty and requiring states to develop a quality improvement system Provide an infusion of new resources to states to promote early learning 0 -5 through a diverse delivery system (home visiting, quality improvements for child care 0 -5, prek, family literacy)

New Messengers l Economists Business leaders Law Enforcement Doctors Elderly Parents You……. l Seven messages for advocates…. l l l

1 - Refocus on child development l It is nature and nurture that shape the architecture of the brain l Domains of development are integrated: physical, social, emotional, cognitive l ECD Goals- good health, strong families, positive early learning experiences

2 - Advocate for policies that support positive adult child relationships l Family centered early education l A strong early childhood workforce qualified staff compensation diversity networks higher education capacity recognition of new roles

The Early Care and Education Industry is a Significant Employer: Example from Ohio (Source: National Economic Law Center)

3 - Recognize that non- program aspect of a child’s life matter l l l Family income Maternal education Fathers in their lives Social networks Conditions of well being- sleep, TV, food intake Environment- pollution and violence

4 - Understand assessment and say NO where it does not fit for young children Assessment to guide curriculum ECD Improvement system l Evaluation l Program Monitoring Kindergarten Readiness To hold a community accountable not to judge preschool programs

5 - Follow research, put it to use, and question it…… l l l Promote the use of evaluation to make improvements Use what we are learning: Lessons from Early Head Start –Children did best when they had 0 -3 and formal preschool program Respond and question- example from the recent NICHD report

6 - Promote ready schools with a bottoms up view l Alignment goes both ways l ECD contributes Respect for diversity Involvement of parents Ties to health Child centered curriculum l Importance of attendance l Include after school

7 - Be an advocate for children in your community and for children around the world

l l l 133 million children born each year around the world, the vast majority in the developing world 11 million children die each year from preventable diseases 200 million young children are seriously at risk for healthy development The HIV/Aids crisis will leave 20 million orphans behind by 2010 70 -100 million children do not have access to primary education

Interest in education grows… l UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (l 989) l Education for all (l 990, 2000) l Millennium Development Goals

Millennium Development Goals 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Eradicate extreme poverty Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AID, malaria and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development

Education for all and ECD l Jomtien, Thailand, l 990 World Conference on Education for All “Learning begins at birth. This calls for early childhood care and initial education. These can be provided through arrangements involving families, communities or institutional programs as appropriate” (article 5) l Dakar, 2000 Established 6 goals including: Expand improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Programs for the under-3 s Many countries lack programmes addressing health, nutrition, care and education of the under 3 s, a critical period in the child’s life Source: 2007 GMR Countries with at least one formal programme for children under 3 in 2005 (%)

Regional trends in pre-primary A three-fold increase in pre-primary enrolments over 30 years More than 1 in 3 children now enrolled but huge regional differences Source: 2007 GMR Developed/transition countries Latin America/Caribbean East Asia/Pacific South and West Asia Arab States Sub-Saharan Africa

Recommendations of the Consultative Group on Early Care and Development 1. Start at the beginning Integrate parenting information and early stimulation into prenatal care, early health services, and child care 2. Get ready for success Assure at least one or two years of preprimary starting with the most vulnerable 3. Improve Primary School Quality Improve first three grades of school- smaller classes, trained teachers, learning materials in the hands of children 4. Promote early childhood policy development Include early childhood in all national planning (PRSP’s, Fast Track)

To learn about early childhood development around the world… l l l l UNICEF www. unicef. org UNESCO www. unesco. org The Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development www. ecdgroup. com The World Bank www. worldbank. org/children World Forum Foundation www. worldforum. org The Bernard van Leer Foundation www. bernardvanleer. org OMEP www. omep-international. org

You can make a difference… l Global Action for Children www. globalactionforchildren. org. l Global Campaign for Education www. globalcampaignforeducation. org l Convention on the Rights of the Child www. childrensrightscampaign. org

What I have learned along the way…… l All ages and stages matter l We have to advocate across borders for children l Team work is better than me work l Friendship is central to life l Leadership is about letting go l Our work is about love………….