Example: biology

State Indicators for Early Childhood - NCCP

SHORT TAKE No. 7. State Indicators for Early Childhood ,INKING 0 OLICIES FOR #HILD (EALTH %ARLY ,EARNING AND &AMILY 3 UPPORT. Virtually all State Early Childhood Comprehensive System Initiatives have adopted or identified Indicators for monitoring program performance and W W W N C C P O R G T H R I V E. THRIVE NCCP ORG. child outcomes related to Early Childhood systems. These are primarily based on nationally recommended Indicators or on State initiatives. How- ever, although a functional set of Indicators is needed to monitor progress of ECCS initiatives across the states , there is no one overarching set of indica- tors consistently being used.)

2 State Indicators for Early Childhood National Center for Children in Poverty For others, indicators and performance measures are used to underscore areas of need or success. As described by Lisbeth Schorr: The use of outcome indicators that reflect common

Tags:

  States, Indicator, Early, Childhood, State indicators for early childhood

Information

Domain:

Source:

Link to this page:

Please notify us if you found a problem with this document:

Other abuse

Transcription of State Indicators for Early Childhood - NCCP

1 SHORT TAKE No. 7. State Indicators for Early Childhood ,INKING 0 OLICIES FOR #HILD (EALTH %ARLY ,EARNING AND &AMILY 3 UPPORT. Virtually all State Early Childhood Comprehensive System Initiatives have adopted or identified Indicators for monitoring program performance and W W W N C C P O R G T H R I V E. THRIVE NCCP ORG. child outcomes related to Early Childhood systems. These are primarily based on nationally recommended Indicators or on State initiatives. How- ever, although a functional set of Indicators is needed to monitor progress of ECCS initiatives across the states , there is no one overarching set of indica- tors consistently being used.)

2 The challenge for states ' ECCS leadership is to select an indicator set that is both comprehensive enough to monitor system developments and specific and limited enough to be useful and manageable. This Short Take reviews the characteristics of good Indicators and proposes Project THRIVE Short Takes highlight topics 36 Indicators , based on a review of the literature, an analysis of key national of interest and importance to State maternal indicator sets, and a comparative review of Indicators set out in State ECCS. and child health leaders and their partners reports and plans.

3 Building State Early Childhood Comprehen- sive Systems (ECCS). Each Short Take sum- marizes the issue, relevant research, State Background examples, and related resources. In recent years, states and communities across the country have adopted Project THRIVE is a public policy analy- results-based accountability (RBA) approaches that use Indicators of child sis and education initiative for infants and and family well-being,1 including those focused on Early Childhood health young children at the National Center for and development. 2 Federal agencies have defined program performance Children in Poverty (NCCP) funded through measures, and federal interagency efforts have created indicator As a cooperative agreement with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources defined by Friedman4 and others,5 a full RBA process has multiple, cyclical and Services Administration, of the steps to: Department of Health and Human Services.

4 1. convene stakeholders;. 2. select desired results and Indicators ;. The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) uses research to inform policy and 3. gather baseline and trend data;. practice that promote the economic security, 4. investigate the story behind the baseline and trends;. health, and well-being of America's low- income families and children. 5. learn about effective intervention strategies ( what works to do better);. 6. recommend and implement a change strategy based on knowledge and consensus; and 7. repeat the Some communities, states , and federal agencies are actively engaged in the work of monitoring the well-being of children and families using the full RBA process.

5 7 % 3 4 4 ( 3 4 2 % % 4 . % 7 9 / 2 + . 9 . 7 W W W N C C P O R G. 2 State Indicators for Early Childhood National Center for Children in Poverty For others, Indicators and performance measures are used desired results. Some are measures of policy implemen- to underscore areas of need or success. As described by tation, with others focused at the individual A. Lisbeth Schorr: particular indicator may measure risk in some situations The use of outcome Indicators that reflect common and at other times be an outcome The low sense and common understanding ( Indicators that birthweight rate, for example, would be an outcome when show, for example, that the rates of low-weight births considering prenatal programs and a measure of under- are being reduced, or that more students are demon- lying risk in terms of outcomes for children enrolled in strating age-appropriate mastery of school skills))

6 Helps Early Childhood programs. Fourth grade reading scores to focus attention on agency mission rather than rules, would be an outcome measure for Early Childhood pro- and permits the necessary flexibility and autonomy grams, and might be an indicator of risk if the focus is at the front-end The focus is on results and perfor- having all children graduate from high school. mance, not just on the number of clients served or encounters. The question asked of agencies and service Project THRIVE has worked in partnership with states providers, shifts from Did you do what they told you to define appropriate Indicators for ECCS initiatives.

7 We to do?'' to Did it work? What difference did it make have adopted the three Friedman criteria used to identify in outcomes for children? 7 an effective These are: Communication Power Does the indicator com- For RBA efforts, a desired result must be determined. municate to a broad range of audiences? Is it easily un- Here, a result is a bottom line condition of well-being derstood by the lay public, policy makers, and media? for children, families, or communities. For State ECCS Does it measure or reflect something that is widely initiatives, the desired results that all children reach understood as a problem or remedy?

8 School healthy and ready to succeed, with age appropriate Proxy Power Does the indicator say something of social-emotional, cognitive, and language development. central importance about the result? Does the indica- From a policy perspective, these are reflected in the core tor also reflect associated factors and risks? For exam- ECCS goals and five core components: (1) access to ple, infant mortality is an indicator considered to be a health care and medical home; (2) social-emotional de- reflection of maternal and infant health, of premature velopment and mental health; (3) Early care and educa- or low-birthweight birth, and of access to a healthy tion; (4) parenting education; and (5) family support.

9 Environment and high quality health services. In RBA terms, an indicator (sometimes called a bench- Data Power Are data routinely available on a timely mark) is a measure (supported by reliable and routinely basis? Are these data reliable and standardized? Do available data), that helps to quantify the achievement we have both a valid numerator and denominator for of the desired result. While these measures don't replace calculating rates? If not, is the need for this indicator evaluations of what works, monitoring with indica- feasible and important enough to be put on the agenda tors helps to answer two important questions: (1) How for data development?

10 Would we know if we achieved the desired result? and (2) Are we making progress, moving in the right direc- tion toward the desired result? For ECCS Initiatives, Understanding and Mining Existing Data Sets with the overall desired result being school readiness, a good set of Indicators would help to answer these ques- Project THRIVE conducted an assessment of Early tions: What are the measures of school readiness that Childhood system Indicators based on a review on the would indicate success? What are the indications that a State ECCS reports and plans from 2006 and 2007.


Related search queries