Transcript Document

Project Thrive and the
Resources of NCCP
A Webinar for the ECCS Community
Jane Knitzer, EdD
Director, NCCP
New York, NY | October 29, 2008
Who We Are

NCCP is a non-partisan, public interest research
organization at Columbia University’s Mailman
School of Public Health.

NCCP uses research to promote the economic
security, health, and well-being of America’s
low-income children and families.

Our ultimate goal: Improved outcomes for the
next generation.
www.nccp.org
NCCP’s Core Foci

Family Economic Security
 Promoting Opportunity and Mobility

Early Childhood
 Promoting Healthy Development and School Success

Health and Mental Health
 Promoting Family Stability and Emotional Wellbeing
www.nccp.org
The Larger Context:
Low-Income Status Varies by Age
Children living in low-income a nd poor fa milies, by a ge group, 2007
Low-income
Percent (%)
Poor
50
40
43%
43%
42%
5 .4 million
3 .5 million
1 .7 million
39%
9 .3 million
30
35%
8 .9 million
20
21%
21%
20%
2 .7 million
1 .7 million
0 .8 million
10
17%
16%
4 .1 million
3 .9 million
0
Under 3
3–4
5
6–11
12–17
Source: Dougla s-Ha ll, Aya na ; Cha u, Michelle. 2 0 0 8 . Ba sic Fa cts About Low-income Children: Birth to Age 1 8.
N ew York, N Y: N a tiona l Center for Children in Pove rty, Columbia University, Ma ilma n School of Public Hea lth.
www.nccp.org
Variation by State: Children Under Six
Low-income ra tes for young children a cross the sta tes, 2007
DC
Under 30% [5]
30 to 39% [15]
40 to 49% [25]
50% or more [6]
Source: Da ta prepa red by the N a tiona l Center for Children in Pove rty, ba sed on U.S. Current Popula tion Su rvey,
Ma rch Annua l Socia l a nd Economic Supplement, 2 0 0 6 -2 0 0 8 .
www.nccp.org
About Project Thrive

Project Thrive is a public policy analysis and
education initiative to promote healthy child
development.

Supported through a cooperative agreement with
the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HRSA-DHHS.

In its 4th year

Aim: Help states strengthen their cross-sector early
childhood systems through policy analysis and
information sharing
www.nccp.org
Thrive’s Logic Model
Linking Policies to Improve Results
Improved Policy and
Finance Context
 Better use of existing
resources across programs
and funding streams
 Improved coordination of
eligibility and outreach
processes
 Better mechanisms to
integrate service systems
 Cross-system approaches to
serve and support families
Improved Child / Family
Services Across Systems
 Better implementation of
critical components
 More children with medical
homes linked to system of
care
 Earlier identification
of special needs
 Cross-system training and
professional development
 Better family support
 Services in settings families
rely on and trust
 More access to coordinated
services for those with
greater risks and needs
Improved Outcomes
 Improved child health and
development
 Reduced family stress
 Improved parenting
 Improved work attendance
for parents
www.nccp.org
What We Do

Synthesize and generate new knowledge about policies and
practice.

Actively promote peer-to-peer transfer of knowledge

Develop tools that support systems development

Disseminate materials to core stakeholders and others

Develop tools for ECCS

Respond selectively to specific requests (e.g. Tennessee MH
fact Sheet)
www.nccp.org
Thrive Resources

Virtual Policy Sharing Network (VPSN)
 Webinars and conference calls

Short Takes
 Targets core ECCS stakeholders to provide a “big picture” on
critical system-related issues

Issue Briefs
 Major topical issue briefs that reach the broader policy
community (researchers, advocates, professional organizations)
often linked to Emerging Issues Roundtables

Informal Consultation to States
www.nccp.org
Thrive Page on NCCP.org
www.nccp.org
Thrive Collaborations

LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s
Health), a SAMHSA Project
 Will support infrastructure development and policy reform at
state/territorial/tribal level and enhanced programs and services
at the local level
 NCCP will develop Financing and Indicators resources relevant to
state and local level stakeholders, hope to work with ECCS in
project states

Build/NCCP Initiative
 Promoting health and mental health in the context of early
childhood: invitations to selected state teams
www.nccp.org
Areas of Focus in our Work To Date

Strengthening Cross-system Infrastructure

Promoting Strategic Fiscal Analysis

Building Accountability Through Indicators

Focusing on the Highest Risk Young Children and
Families ( Home Visiting; Maternal Depression)

Strengthening the ECE State Policy Framework
(Learning Collaboratives)
www.nccp.org
Thrive Work of the Future
 A series of four webinars and four conference calls
• The webinars will include continued attention to indicators,
to the more vulnerable children and to opportunities linked to
the larger federal context
• The conference calls will address links between ECCS and Early
Childhood Advisory Councils (ECAC) as well as some areas
that NCCP has not focused on but that are part of ECCS
(e.g. Advanced Medical Homes and Oral Health)
 Issue briefs related to fiscal strategies and Indicators
 On-going efforts to help states address the policy
implications of the new ECCS guidance.
www.nccp.org
Other (Selected) NCCP Projects and Resources

Early Childhood
 Improving the Odds
 Research Connections
 Chronic Absenteeism
 Kellogg
 Part C

Family Economic Security

Health and Mental Health
www.nccp.org
Improving the Odds

Is intended to
 Sharpen the debate on effective state policies to promote early
childhood development
 Focus on young children (< age 6) and their families

Is based on
 existing 50 state data bases, and is not definitive list of what states
should be or are doing

Provides
 State, regional, and national early childhood profiles
 50-state data tables for comparisons across the states
 A baseline to monitor state and national trends
www.nccp.org
ITO’s Integrated Policy Approach
THRIVING CHILDREN
1. Good health
and mental health
2. High-quality
3. Economically secure
early care and learning
and nurturing families
Clipart courtesy of FCIT
www.nccp.org
Underlying Principles of ITO
Focus on vulnerable families. Families earning less that 200 percent of
the poverty level may struggle to meet the basic needs of their children.
State policy choices matter. How a state chooses to allocate federal and
state funds, promote quality, and establish eligibility criteria influences who
has access to essential supports and who does not.
Research should inform state policies.
Research on the effects of
poverty, the biology of the developing brain, the cumulative effects of risk,
and the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions can inform policy
choices. (See NCCP’s User Guide to ITO)
Balance the three-legged stool. Strong policies in one area can be
undermined by weak policies in another. Seek balance across child health,
early learning, and family support.
www.nccp.org
Implications for ECCS

Compare your state early childhood profile to the
regional and national profile. Where are your policy
strengths and weaknesses?

Customize your state early childhood profile by
identifying other policy choices your state is or
could make.

Make the research case for a more comprehensive
early childhood policy agenda in your state.
www.nccp.org
Research Connections is a quick and comprehensive, online
one-stop for research on child care and early education.
www.nccp.org
Searchable collection of over 13,000 early care and education resources
(journal articles, reports, policy briefs, etc.)
www.nccp.org
 Produce different types of research synthesis on critical issues in the field.
 Offer policy briefs (Research-to-Policy Connections) and literature reviews (Reviews of Research).
www.nccp.org
 Also produce - Key Topic Resource Lists - which provide a quick summary of the research
and an interactive bibliography.
 Have one on each of the 5 ECCS components.
www.nccp.org
www.nccp.org
Chronic Absenteeism in Early Schooling

A study based on national, longitudinal data on children entering
kindergarten in 1998 – the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study,
Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K, NCES)

An estimated one in ten kindergarten and first grade students
are chronically absent nationally
 Who is most often chronically absent?
• Poor and low income children
• Children with poor health status
• Children who were cared for by parents and relatives during the year before
kindergarten, as opposed to those who received center-based care
• Children who are chronically absent in kindergarten are more often chronically
absent in later grades
• Some districts and schools have higher incidence of chronic absence than others
www.nccp.org
Chronic Absenteeism in Early Schooling (cont)

Chronic early absence adversely affects
academic performance throughout the
elementary grades
 Latino children who were chronically absent in
kindergarten performed low in first grade reading
 Poor children who were chronically absent in
kindergarten had low academic achievement in
fifth grade
www.nccp.org
Chronic Absenteeism in Early Schooling and
Maternal and Family Risk


Maternal and family risks - poverty, teenage and/or single parenting,
low levels of maternal education, receipt of welfare, unemployment,
poor maternal health, food insecurity, and large family size - are
related to greater absenteeism:

The cumulative exposure to risk best predicts chronic absenteeism in early schooling

Kindergarteners in contact with three or more risks were more often chronic absentees
than their peers not facing any risks

But as children progress through the elementary grades, the impact of cumulative risk
on school attendance lessens, only to rise again in the fifth grade

The most vulnerable children – those who are poor or racial/ethnic minorities or suffer
from poor health – have the greatest exposure to cumulative risk
Implications for ECCS: examine the issue in your own state: convene a
work group
www.nccp.org
Kellogg Pathways to 3rd Grade Success

Test out the Pathways to Third Grade Success Framework to
help communities achieve school readiness goals

Develop tools to help communities engage in strategic fiscal
and program analysis to maximize impact of local wisdom plus
empirical knowledge base

Pilot test in two or three sites:

Develop multi-site learning collaborative in years two or three,
engaging communities and states

Implications for ECCS: Help with state to local technical
assistance
www.nccp.org
Part C

Aim: Understand how to maximize integration of
social and emotional with other Part C activities

Project Activities
 50 state survey of Part C Coordinators on screening and
assessment of children in social emotional domain
 Case studies in six sites implementing innovative
approaches to integrating social and emotional with other
Part C activities

Implications for ECCS: Invite you to tell us about
innovative efforts and/or barriers.
www.nccp.org
Family Economic Security

Rationale for NCCP’s focus on Family Economic
Security
 Research is clear that poverty is one of the greatest
threats – if not the single most important threat –
to child health and development.
 A major goal of our Family Economic Security work
is to illuminate the connections between family
economic status and children’s chances for success.
www.nccp.org
Family Economic Security

Current topics
 Effects of poverty and economic hardship on child
development and family well-being
 Low-wage work and work supports
 Measures of income adequacy (such as the poverty
measure, basic needs budgets)
 Economic mobility and intergenerational poverty
 Universal supports for working families (e.g., child care,
family leave, asset protection)
www.nccp.org
Family Economic Security

Current Projects: Making Work Supports Work
 NCCP works with state partners to examine existing work
support policies and to identify and promote policy reforms
that make work pay for low-wage workers and their
families.
 Project uses NCCP’s Family Resource Simulator—online
policy tool that shows the impact of federal and state work
supports on the budgets of low- to moderate-income families.
 The Basic Needs Budget Calculator is a related tool that
shows how much a family needs to make ends meet.
www.nccp.org
Family Resource Simulator
www.nccp.org
Family Economic Security

Current Projects: 50-state profiles and report
 State Family Economic Security profiles provide data on
low-income families and highlight state policy choices to
promote work attachment and advancement, income
adequacy, and asset development.
 Staying Afloat in Tough Times: What States Are and Are
not Doing to Promote Family Economic Security
www.nccp.org
Health and Mental Health Agenda

Unclaimed Children: 50 state policy study
 National study
 California case study
 Michigan case study

Reducing Adolescent Risk: 50 state health policy
study (aim: changes public discourse to a population
approach to policy making in adolescent health)

Pilot examination of factors impacting successful
transitions for homeless youth through the Center
for Homeless Prevention Studies Spring, 2008
www.nccp.org
Questions

What are critical issues not on our agenda that
would be helpful to you?

In what other ways might we be helpful to you?

Would you like copies of any written materials?
Please share your questions and comments !
www.nccp.org
For more information contact us at
[email protected]
Jane Knitzer
Director, National Center for Children in Poverty
Janice Cooper
Director, Child Health & Mental Health
Leslie Davidson
Senior Health Advisor
Louisa B. Higgins
Interim Coordinator, Project THRIVE
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www.nccp.org
www.nccp.org
Contacts
Jane Knitzer
Research Connections, Patti Banghart
[email protected]
[email protected]
Janice Cooper
Chronic Absenteeism, Mariajose Romero
[email protected]
[email protected]
Louisa Higgins
Early Childhood Projects, Jessica Vick
[email protected]
[email protected]
Leslie Davidson
Family Economic Security, Sarah Fass
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.nccp.org