eNotes
December 15, 2017In this Issue:
- Building Strong Foundations Source: ZERO TO THREE & Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
- Administrative Data in Early Care and Education Research Source: Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE)
- Strategies for Reducing Hearing Screening Refer Rates of Toddlers Source: Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO) Initiative
- Investing Early: Taking Stock of Outcomes and Economic Returns from Early Childhood Programs Source: RAND Corporation
- Leadership Development for Center-Based Child Care and Early Education Program Directors Source: Child Care & Early Education Research Connections
- Learning to Coach with Family Guided Routines Based Intervention (FGRBI) Source: New Mexico Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Program
1. Building Strong Foundations
To promote federal and state policy actions that comprehensively address the well-being of infants and toddlers and their families, ZERO TO THREE and CLASP have released a series of reports, Building Strong Foundations: Advancing Comprehensive Policies for Infants, Toddlers, and Families (December 2017). These reports identify 13 core policies required to support young children and their families on a path to healthy development. Such public policies address the comprehensive and interrelated needs of infants, toddlers, and families, ensuring access to mental and physical health care services; healthy food to eat; stable housing; good jobs with adequate benefits; and quality early care and learning programs.
CLASP and ZERO TO THREE are seeking feedback from researchers, advocates, and policymakers on the resources published as part of the Building Strong Foundations project.
2. Administrative Data in Early Care and Education Research
OPRE has provided a set of resources (November 2017) to assist and support state/territory child care administrators and their research partners to use administrative data to respond to policy related early care and education research questions. Research staff in state agencies may also benefit from these resources.
3. Strategies for Reducing Hearing Screening Refer Rates of Toddlers
The recent issue of Probes & Tips newsletter (December 2017) from ECHO states that the pass rate from an initial hearing screening should be 75% or higher. If referral rates for a hearing evaluation are higher than 25%, there is most likely a training issue with the screening staff that needs to be addressed. This video gives practitioners strategies to successfully administer a hearing screening with Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) equipment to toddlers and reduce refer rates. Visit ECHO's video tutorial modules for further training.
4. Investing Early: Taking Stock of Outcomes and Economic Returns from Early Childhood Programs
The RAND Corporation has published a free ebook (December 2017) that examines the evaluations of 115 early childhood programs. The authors studied a variety of early intervention programs, including preschool, home visiting, and parent education. The findings reveal that most of the programs have positive effects on at least one child outcome, and those with a cost evaluation tend to show positive economic results. The evidence confirms that high quality early childhood programs improve the lives of children and their families.
5. Leadership Development for Center-Based Child Care and Early Education Program Directors
According to the September 2017 issue of Research Connections, only 2.9% of the early childhood undergraduate degree programs in the U.S. offer a concentration in early childhood administration or leadership. To fill the gap, various educational institutions, state agencies and technical assistance centers provide professional development programs to advance leadership growth in the field. This Research-to-Policy Resource lists several research publications on the outcomes of early childhood leadership development programs since 2000.
For more highlights in the field of child care and early education, visit: http://www.researchconnections.org/childcare/welcome.
6. Learning to Coach with Family Guided Routines Based Intervention (FGRBI)
The FIT FOCUS Video Library has added a new video: A Home Visit with Hailey's Family: Learning to Coach with FGRBI (December 2017). In this video, Jessi, an early intervention home visitor from New Mexico's FIT program describes her work with Hailey and her parents, who are both military personnel. Jessi describes how she has made the transition to using a coaching approach and the benefits of coaching and FGRBI.
The FIT FOCUS Video Library is a component of New Mexico's Race To the Top - Early Learning Challenge - FOCUS Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System and a project of New Mexico's Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Program and the Early Childhood Learning Network of the University of New Mexico's Center for Development and Disability.