Below are resources for early childhood professionals and those serving the early childhood community.

Connecting All Children to High-Quality Early Care and Education: Promising Strategies From the International Community  High-quality early care and education (ECE) provides an important foundation for young children’s success in school and in life. Yet, in the United States, fewer than two out of three children between the ages of 3 and 6 are enrolled in center-based ECE programs. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AIR conducted a scan of efforts to improve access to quality ECE for low-income, minority families in other countries that might inform learning and practice in the U.S. context.  (American Institutes for Research – October 24)

Evaluation of the Ounce Professional Development Initiative  The Ounce of Prevention Fund was awarded a three-year Investing in Innovation development grant from the U.S. Department of Education to accelerate the design of an embedded professional development framework for community-based urban early childhood education centers. This report summarizes the evaluation findings from the implementation and impact study of the initiative.

The early childhood system is complex. Sometimes, it may be hard to understand the early childhood system and how to best serve young children and families in Illinois. Through the support of the Boeing Company, Illinois Action for Children produced a series of eight videos that features a different part of the early childhood system.

Conversations on Advancing Early Learning  The Committee for Economic Development (CED) has produced five podcasts in a series titled, “Advancing Early Learning.”  The CED affirms that strong early childhood programs are central to a healthy economy. Topics addressed in the podcast series are science of early brain development, philanthropy in early learning, how business is improving access and quality, strong educational start for children, and the importance of investing in early learning.