Early Childhood Best Practices – National

Published 1/20/2016

Ages 0-3

  1. Early Childhood Home Visiting [DHHS Maternal and Child Health www.mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/homevisiting; DHHS Administration for Children & Families www.homvee.acf.hhs.gov; Zero to Three www.zerotothree.org; example: Every Child Succeeds at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital & Medical Center www.cincinnatichildrens.org/service/e/ecs/default]
  2. Nurse-Family Partnership [www.nursefamilypartnership.org; example: Invest In Kids statewide implementation in Colorado www.iik.org]

Ages 3-5

  1. ECE Supply: Increase Quality Preschools through provider training and certification, expansion of facilities, family resource & referral [example: 4C for Children www.4cforchildren.org and other similar organizations around the country]
  2. ECE Access: Subsidize Universal Quality Preschool [examples: statewide public school subsidy for voluntary participation age 4 available in all but 11 states (as of 2013) including Nebraska; Denver Public Schools tax-supported assistance for age 4; Cincinnati Preschool Promise levy initiative to subsidize ages 3 & 4]
  3. Head Start and Early Head Start

Ages 5-8

  1. Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: in addition to school readiness, GLR focuses on attendance, literacy, summer learning, parent engagement and healthcare [www.gradelevelreading.net]
  2. Community Learning Centers [Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers www.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc; Institute for Educational Leadership www.iel.org; Community Learning Center Institute www.clcinstitute.org]

System-level Strategies to Increase the Pace, Scale and Impact of Social and Education Programs:

  1. StriveTogether National Network of Cradle-To-Career Communities [www.strivetogether.org]
  2. United Way’s Success By 6™ in >350 cities and states [example: www.sb6uwgc.org]

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