TOPIC

Access, quality & alignment in early childhood education

Early Childhood Eduction

More than 24 million children ages 5 and younger live in the United States, and about one in eight of them—a little over 3 million—lives in California. Given the rapid brain development during a child’s first five years of life, which lays the foundation for all future learning, California has a compelling interest and responsibility to ensure that programs for young children provide a safe, socially supportive, and effective educational environment.

Considerable research shows that children attending high-quality preschool programs receive significant benefits. California has many good providers; but for a state that once led the nation in early childhood education, early childhood education today is marked by diminished investments in quality, low wages, and highly fractured oversight and implementation.

PACE’s work related to early childhood education is designed to help policymakers understand the challenges in current state policies and develop paths forward toward a high-quality, aligned early childhood system that benefits all California children.

Recent Topic Publications
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Child Care and Development Services for Children and Families—Phase III Final Report, Part 1
Phase III was designed to further analyze the preliminary recommendations and to utilize the assistance of childcare and development community to re­design childcare and development policy. Professional judgment and experience was sought from…
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California's History in Child Care and Development
Another new curriculum manual is Kids' Time: A School­ Age Care Program Guide, which grew out of discussions at a national conference on Block Grant funding about the lack of materials on school-age childcare, an expanding field for latchkey…
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Child Care and Development Services for Children and Families—Phase II Final Report Executive Summary
The Phase II final report of the California Cares Project undertaken by PACE for the California Department of Education (CDE), California Department of Social Services (CDSS ), and the Office of Child Development and Education, cul­minates the…
California Cares: Child Care and Development Services for Children and Families: Phase I Final Report
Child Care and Development Services for Children and Families—Phase I Final Report
PACE was selected to conduct this study under an interagency agreement with the California Depart­ment of Education, California Department of Social Services, and the Governor's Office of Child Devel­opment and Education. PACE's task is to analyze…