Designing Pre-K to Meet Great Expectations: Some Considerations in Governance and Delivery for States Rachel Schumacher Senior Policy Analyst Center for Law and Social Policy th Street NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC Governors’ Forum on Quality Preschool Disney World Swan Hotel – Orlando, Florida December 16, 2003

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 2 Workshop Overview Designing and delivering pre-kindergarten: why the policy details matter What do we know about state approaches? –State-level governance –Flow of funds to local providers –Trends in state governance and delivery How are states building out from pre-k to the community? –The role of program standards –Findings from CLASP report Background on Georgia and North Carolina pre-k from state experts State expert panel on key considerations for states Group discussion

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 3 Why Policy Details Matter Design of the program can impact: –Public support for the initiative –Extent of support from key constituencies –Whether the pre-k program truly offers quality early learning environments for children –Ability to attract working families to enroll their children –The strength of the state’s pre-existing early education and child care provider community, and (most importantly) –School readiness of children.

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 4 State-Level Governance Models Program decision-making usually resides in: –State departments of education or public instruction –Independent agency reporting to governor or governor’s office –State department of health and human services, or –Interagency governing board or body

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 5 Program Flow Models Funding flows from state-level to: –Schools only –Schools who may deliver all services and/or contract with community providers (e.g. Head Start, private child care centers, private family child care homes) –Schools who are required to deliver some services in community-based settings –Schools, Head Start, child care, etc. –Community collaborative decision-making bodies

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 6 Pre-k Governance & Delivery Trends More pre-kindergarten delivered in diverse settings, including schools, child care, and Head Start The same early education program standards applied across auspices, tied to higher funding, monitoring, and technical assistance Some are combining pre-kindergarten programs with community councils/advisories to increase local planning and coordination

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 7 Trends Example: States with Pre-K in Diverse Settings Some states deliver a large proportion of pre- k in private settings –Georgia – 57% of providers are private settings –New Jersey – 62% of children in child care settings –New York – 64% in private settings Others are moving to encourage more community-based delivery now as they seek to expand pre-k to more children –Illinois –Oklahoma –Wisconsin

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 8 Percentage of 3 and 4-year-olds Cared for Outside the Home Source: Digest of Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics , National Household Education Survey (1999). Provided by Trust for Early Education. Why Look to the Community? The Majority of Preschoolers are Already in Some Type of Care

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 9 Learning Outcomes Program Standards Licensing Regulations Building Out from Pre-k: The Role of Program Standards Together licensing and program standards help provide an environment that supports early learning standards/outcomes. Program standards establish the preferred conditions of the early learning environment and teacher qualifications. Licensing provides a basic foundation for health and safety of children.

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 10 CLASP Expectations Findings Studied Georgia, New Jersey, and New York. Compared standards for child care programs that were part of pre-k to those for basic licensing on: –Staff:child ratios; –Minimum teacher qualifications; –Requirement to have a curriculum; and –Comprehensive health and family services for families that need them. In each of these areas, child care programs participating in pre-k are required to exceed basic state licensing requirements. Participating child care programs can do this only if they receive additional funding, technical assistance, and monitoring.

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 11 Conclusion States have many options in program design More states are looking to partner with private providers to expand access to early learning and keep program options for working parents Important to design pre-k in a way that enhances current state resources and systems

December 2003Center for Law and Social Policy 12 Some Data Resources on Pre-Kindergarten Children’s Defense Fund, Seeds of Success: State Prekindergarten Initiatives ( ) CLASP, State Initiatives to Promote Early Learning: Next Steps in Coordinating Subsidized Child Care, Head Start, and State Prekindergarten; Meeting Great Expectations: Integrating Early Education Program Standards in Child Care Education Commission for the States, Prekindergarten database, Education Week, Building Block for Success: State Efforts in Early Childhood Education, January 2002 edition Foundation for Child Development Working Paper Series, including case studies of pre-k implementation in Georgia and New York, National Institute for Early Education Research, Trust for Early Education,