eNotes
March 17, 2017In this Issue:
- Defining and Measuring Access to High-Quality Early Care and Education Source: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation - March 16, 2017
- Well-being of Young Children after Experiencing Homelessness Source: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation - March 14, 2017
- Young Children with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Rural vs. Urban Areas Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - March 2017
- Flourishing From the Start: What Is It and How Can It Be Measured? Source: Child Trends - March 2017
- Basic Facts about Low-Income Children Source: National Center for Children in Poverty - January 2017
1. Defining and Measuring Access to High-Quality Early Care and Education
A new guidebook, Defining and Measuring Access to High-Quality Early Care and Education (ECE): A Guidebook for Policymakers and Researchers (2017, Research Brief OPRE 2017-08), addresses the development of a common understanding and approach to measuring access to early care and education. It provides information in four sections:
- Clarifying and Defining Access;
- Describing the Indicators of Access;
- Measuring the Indicators of Access; and
- Identifying ECE Access Datasets and Sources.
2. Well-being of Young Children after Experiencing Homelessness
Using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Family Options Study, Well-being of Young Children after Experiencing Homelessness (2017, OPRE Report No. 2017-06), examines the well-being of young children 20 months after staying in emergency homeless shelters with their families. The brief explores young children's: pre-reading skills, pre-math skills, developmental delays, and behavior challenges. It discusses comparisons between children who experienced homelessness and national norms for children of the same age.
3. Young Children with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Rural vs. Urban Areas
Mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDDs) often begin in early childhood and can affect lifelong health and well-being. A new report uses data from the National Survey of Children's Health to examine sociodemographic, health care, family, and community factors among U.S. children aged 2-8 years with and without MBDDs according to whether they live in urban, large rural, small rural, or isolated areas. See the full report: Differences in Health Care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders Among Children Aged 2-8 Years in Rural and Urban Areas - United States, 2011-2012 (Surveillance Summaries, 66(8), 1-11, March 17, 2017)
4. Flourishing From the Start: What Is It and How Can It Be Measured?
Findings from the research indicate that early investments can support positive child development and result in long-lasting benefits. However, in order to successfully implement policies and programs that help children flourish, there needs to be a way to define, measure, and monitor what is meant by "flourishing." A new research brief from Child Trends, Flourishing From the Start: What Is It and How Can It Be Measured? (March 2017), discusses the importance of establishing a conceptual model for defining and achieving flourishing as well as feasible measurement methods for assessing flourishing in a variety of settings and for different purposes. The authors recommend a set of critical constructs that, if measured, would provide a more balanced view of children that highlights child well-being or flourishing as well as promotive and protective factors.
5. Basic Facts about Low-Income Children
The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) recently published the latest edition of its "Basic Facts about Low-Income Children" fact sheet series. Published annually since 2009, these fact sheets provide demographic and socioeconomic profiles of poor and low-income children in different age groups and highlight important factors that appear to distinguish these children from their less disadvantaged peers. Of specific interest to the early childhood community are these two fact sheets from the series: