eNotes from

1. Information Collecting under Part C - Invitation to Comment Extended
     Source: U.S. Department of Education
2. From the Ground Up: Establishing Strong Core Policies
     Source: CLASP and ZERO TO THREE
3. Early Childhood Two-Generation State Policy Profiles
     Source: National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
4. Building Inclusive State Child Care Systems
     Source: Childcare Aware of America, Division for Early Childhood, & the Ounce
5. Characteristics of Preschool-Age Children: Data Tool to Inform Policy and Action
     Source: Urban Institute
6. Partnering With Families in Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
     Source: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE)

Source: U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education has extended its deadline for inviting comments on several proposed information collection requests related to Part C of the IDEA:

• 1) Annual State Application,
• 2) State Lead Agency Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements,
• 3) Report of Infants and Toddlers Receiving Early Intervention.

The Department is interested in comments that help assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The new deadline for submitting comments is October 27, 2017.

Source: CLASP and ZERO TO THREE

A new resource (September 2017) from CLASP and ZERO TO THREE describes the rationale for investing in programs that support children's development in the earliest years of life and identifies 13 core policies to improving infant-toddler well-being.

Source: National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)

NCCP recently updated its state profiles that provide a two-generation perspective of current policies affecting children (age birth to 8), both nationally and state-by-state. The areas covered are early care and education, health, and parenting economic supports.

Source: Childcare Aware of America, Division for Early Childhood, & the Ounce

This recent brief (September 2017) gives an historical account of the progress of policy supporting inclusion of young children with disabilities in early childcare settings. Strategies designed to maximize opportunities for promoting inclusion follow. The first step is to identify the child care, Part C and Part B 619 agency partners, technical assistance and support systems already in place in your state and schedule a meeting. Also included are grant opportunities and FAQs for early educators and families.

Source: Urban Institute

This new interactive data tool (September 2017) from the Urban Institute generates U.S. indicator data on children ages 3 to 5 based on 2011-2015 data gathered from the American Community Survey (ACS). The data groups are defined by school enrollment, family income, and the parents' nativity. See the technical appendix for further details about the tool.

Source: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE)

This August 2017 OPRE report includes a tip sheet with several strategies to assist grantees of MIECHV funds to partner with families in order to sustain CQI within their programs. Some suggestions for developing partnerships with families are administering surveys, conducting focus groups, recruiting family members to co-lead CQI initiatives in a family advisory council, and compensating family participants, such as offering child care discounts or mileage reimbursement.