This article is written for educators who serve as teachers, administrators, policy-makers in childcare settings, schools, classrooms, teacher preparation programs, programs that prepare educational researchers, and universities. Its purpose is to provide background, rationale, and support for individuals within those institutions to address the…

This short document provides basic information to help housing and homeless assistance providers advocate with their families and youth for appropriate educational services, from birth through higher education. The rights and protections outlined in this document apply to all children and youth experiencing homelessness, as defined by the…

"The Family Partnership Process: Engaging and Goal-Setting with Families" explores how strong partnerships can positively influence the goals families set in the Family Partnership Process. This guide recommends "Seven Steps for Setting and Reaching Goals with Families" and will help program staff: (1) learn about families and…

Schools, working together with local health departments, have an important role in slowing the spread of diseases and protecting vulnerable students and staff, to help ensure students have safe and healthy learning environments. This guidance will help public and private child care programs, K-12 schools, and their partners understand how to help…

Recent federal policy changes have placed new requirements on states to demonstrate and document their efforts to improve access to high-quality early care and education (ECE), and have made clear the urgent need for a shared understanding of this concept. This guidebook was developed to address the need for developing a common understanding and…

When the Model Work Standards were first crafted more than two decades ago, they were built on the premise that quality child care jobs are the cornerstone of high-quality services for children and families. The intent of these standards is to make it possible for those who choose family child care as a career to reasonably and responsibly support…

The Build Back Better (BBB) framework would create an ambitious $400 billion early childhood initiative -- funding both universal prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds and initiatives designed to improve affordability, quality, and compensation within the child care arena. On November 19, 2021, The Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) was passed in…

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), Congress' most recent package for COVID-19 relief, includes billions of dollars dedicated to infants, toddlers, and children under the age of six. In addition to the $800 million in education funding included for identifying and supporting children and youth experiencing homelessness, there are opportunities…

In 2017, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funded Mathematica to conduct the Infant and Toddler Teacher and Caregiver Competencies (ITTCC) project. The project aims to examine existing efforts across states, institutions of higher education, professional organizations, and…

When the Model Work Standards were first crafted more than two decades ago, they were built on the premise that quality child care jobs are the cornerstone of high-quality services for children and families. The intent of these standards is to make it possible for those who choose teaching young children as a career to reasonably and responsibly…

Family engagement is essential to high quality services for all children in early childhood care and education. From the beginning of life, families nurture their children and the capacities they will need to be ready for school. The Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework for Early Childhood Systems is a guide to understanding…

This report is a compendium of best practices for assisting low-income students. It highlights work that has been underway for years but has not always been implemented at scale, especially within institutions that enroll significant numbers of low-income students. This toolkit offers leaders five concrete strategies they can use in two ways to…

Concerns about the new coronavirus are having profound effects on the public education landscape, from how educators deliver instruction to the amount of revenue available for operating schools. The full fiscal effect of school closures and of the country's broader economic downturn is not yet known, but predictions are distressing. More than…

This "Integrated Pest Management Toolkit for Early Care and Education Programs" presents practical information about using integrated pest management (IPM) to prevent and manage pest problems in early care and education programs. This curriculum will help people in early care and education programs learn how to keep pests out of early…

Building on extensive feedback from the field as well as vigorous new research on how best to support infant and toddler development and learning, the authors have revised and updated the widely used "Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale." ITERS-3 is the next-generation assessment tool for use in center-based child care programs for…