Policy Changes Across the Early Care and Education System: Emerging Implications and Research Priorities

Session Submission Type: Late-Breaking Roundtable

Abstract

The early care and education (ECE) field is in a time of significant flux, with large scale policy changes being proposed and enacted at various levels of government. At the federal level, very recent proposals aim to deregulate the Head Start program through eliminating federal standards for classroom ratios, teacher qualifications, pay parity with early elementary school teachers, and program service requirements. Additionally, sweeping changes to participant eligibility are reported to be under consideration for the Child Care Development Block Grant, which provides funding for child care subsidies. Altering these two federal programs would have significant effects on the ECE system as it currently operates, disrupting ECE provider funding and creating confusion about governing policies based on a program’s funding stream.

At the same time, states are also revising or developing policies around ECE. For example, some states are increasing access to care through raising the income eligibility threshold for receiving subsidies (e.g., New Mexico) or providing state funds to launch new programs, such as transitional kindergarten (e.g., California). Little is known yet about how these increases in funds or eligibility are affecting family access or the ECE system. Other states are responding to ECE access challenges with deregulation (e.g., increasing group size or ratios; lowering staff requirements). Such dramatic changes at the federal and state levels have real potential to impact the ECE system, workforce, and families. 

Our late-breaking roundtable discussion, moderated by Dr. Cara L. Kelly, will feature leading ECE experts to discuss intended and unintended consequences of these enacted and potential policy changes. Dr. Jade Jenkins will discuss the administrative burden facing families and providers as they navigate an evolving ECE ecosystem. Dr. Anna Markowitz will focus on impacts to the ECE workforce, including successful ways policy has addressed the workforce shortage. Dr. Cynthia Osborne will comment on policy changes and impacts specifically for the prenatal to age 3 population. Dr. Katharine Sadowski will address ECE data needs, availability, and the benefits of such data to understand policy implementation and effects on the system, workforce, and families. Each expert will provide discussion of the current and evolving ECE policy landscape and provide areas for future research that may be useful to audience members seeking to understand more about the effects of such policy changes.

Policy Area

• Family and Child Policy

Moderator

• Cara L Kelly, University of Oklahoma

Organizer

• Anamarie A Whitaker, University of Delaware

Speakers

• Anna Markowitz, University of California - Los Angeles

• Katharine Sadowski, Stanford University

• Cynthia Osborne, Vanderbilt University

• Jade Vanessa Marcus Jenkins, University of California, Irvine