Strengthen Early Learning and Care in Oregon!

by CI Communications | Oct 24, 2024 | Action Alerts, Health and Development, Oregon Policy, Preschool

Children’s Institute believes that if we choose children, we can change the world.

Join us by adding your name today!

Strengthening the early learning and care system is a top priority for Oregon.

We know that what happens in the early years lays the foundation for a child’s future academic success, social development, and overall well-being. Research has consistently shown that children who have access to quality early learning and health programs are more likely to succeed in school and in life.

Despite the clear benefits, many children in communities across the state do not have access to proven early childhood programs and services. Strengthening early childhood opportunities reduces inequality and creates the opportunity for all Oregonian children to succeed.

Oregon has the essential building blocks in place to create a powerful and effective ecosystem of learning and health for our youngest children. But programs and services are still underfunded and don’t reach all the children and families who can benefit.

It’s up to us, adults who care about children, to keep the needs of children at the forefront of policymakers’ minds, and to advocate to make our early learning and care system stronger. This year is no different — we must continue making progress for children.

Our Priorities are Clear!

- Ensure more children have access to early learning and child care
- Support educators and providers working with young children so they can be at their best
- Reduce child poverty so families can meet their basic needs
- Reduce child homelessness by increasing housing options for children under age 2
- Co-locate child care with family housing
- Expand access to doulas to ensure safe births and post-partum support
- Strengthen parent-child relationships through social-emotional health services

Early childhood investments are great for kids and families, and they are one of the best investments we can make for Oregon’s future.

Add your name today!

State of Preschool 2023 Yearbook Report

by CI Communications | Jul 23, 2024 | National Research, News, Preschool, What We're Reading

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released the State of Preschool 2023 Yearbook. This annual report tracks preschool enrollment, funding, and quality across the United States. This year’s report highlights key findings on universal preschool and emerging trends nationwide.

Preschool Spending

The NIEER report provides important insights into preschool spending across the United States for the 2022-2023 school year.

Spending on publicly funded preschool programs increased significantly in 2022-2023, in part because of the distribution of federal and state COVID-19 relief funds. In total, states spent $11.7 billion on preschool programs.

On average, states individually spent $7,277 per child enrolled in preschool programs. When adding federal and local funds from COVID-19 relief dollars, the total average spending per child rose to $11,300. This indicates a growing investment in early childhood education.

This is notable because while it is more than what states spent before the pandemic, there isn’t a marked difference in spending from 22 years ago (about $6,950 per child per year in 2002).

Preschool Funding

Preschool funding remains a major policy issue for states to consider as they make choices about the future of early education. A key question for the future is whether states will increase funding enough to keep promises to expand programs and increase quality, including adequate pay for teachers. Is our country and our state at a turning point to make real progress towards high quality universal preschool?

More States Adopting Universal Preschool

A growing number of states are moving toward a universal preschool model, aiming to provide publicly funded preschool education to all children. This shift recognizes the importance of early childhood education and seeks to ensure that all children, regardless of socioeconomic status, have access to high-quality preschool programs.

As of the 2022-2023 school year there are 60 state funded preschool programs in 44 states and Washington, D.C.

A Critical Moment for Preschool

States need to make strategic decisions about early childhood education and invest in high quality preschool programs that support whole-child development. Early learning investments are the most cost-effective way to close opportunity and achievement gaps, support families, and strengthen child care availability.

Oregon continues to work on expanding access and improving the quality of preschool programs. While progress is being made, more is needed to make sure that all children have access to high quality early education, regardless of their zip code.

Children’s Institute, community partners, and other early childhood advocates are calling for state policymakers to prioritize young children, not just in early education, but in housing and behavioral health, as essential pillars of Oregon’s early childhood ecosystem. Because when we center children across sectors, we create more equitable opportunities and brighter futures.

See our priorities for Young Children

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Key Findings from the Oregon Early Childhood Health Summit, Report

by CI Communications | Jun 26, 2024 | CI in the News, News

This year, Children’s Institute and Trauma Informed Oregon (TIO) co-hosted the Oregon Early Childhood Summit. This event brought together cross-sector partners from early childhood, health and behavioral health, education and special education, advocacy, and philanthropy to build a shared vision and plan for early childhood social-emotional health, and to ensure all children are included in education and care.

We know that early childhood experiences set a foundation for a lifetime of well-being and success. That’s why it is critically important to prioritize social-emotional health during the earliest years of a child’s life. With this in mind, the summit focused on exploring strategies for enhancing social-emotional support for children and families.

The summit also aimed to unearth effective practices, innovative ideas, and systemic changes needed to ensure that all children have the opportunity to thrive.

Following this event, Children’s Institute and TIO produced a social-emotional health report, informed by focused sessions and conversations from participants who attended the gathering.

Oregon Early Childhood Summit Report

SEH Report_CI+TIO_2024 by Children's Institute

Download the report (PDF)

Reporte en Español (PDF)

Key Findings

Vision for Children’s Social and Emotional Health

Attendees shared a comprehensive vision for promoting children’s social-emotional health, rooted in child-centered care, community support, social-emotional learning, equity, inclusion, and trauma-informed care.
This holistic vision emphasizes the importance of creating environments where children feel safe, supported, and empowered to express themselves authentically.
By prioritizing the well-being of children and families, stakeholders envision a future where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

What is Working for Children and Families?

Transparent communication, cultural responsiveness, community collaboration, equity initiatives, trauma-informed care, and family-centered approaches emerged as effective strategies for supporting children and families.
Participants highlighted successful programs and initiatives that foster trust, partnership, and family empowerment.
By leveraging community strengths and centering families’ voices and experiences, stakeholders identified promising practices for promoting social-emotional health and resilience.

Untried Ideas, Changes in Policy or Practices

Proposed solutions included advocating for equity and access, enhancing community engagement, investing in professional development, driving systemic change, implementing trauma-informed care, and empowering families.
Stakeholders explored innovative approaches to address systemic barriers and promote the well-being of children and families.
By challenging the status quo and embracing new ideas, attendees identified opportunities for transformative change in early childhood systems and practices.

Actions to Move Forward

Participants called for increased funding, collaboration, equity initiatives, professional development opportunities, policy reform, family engagement efforts, and systemic change.
These actions reflect a shared commitment to building more inclusive, supportive early childhood systems that prioritize the needs of children and families.
By advocating for bold action and mobilizing resources, stakeholders aim to create lasting impact and positive change in early childhood care and education.

See all findings here

What We’re Reading: Oregon KIDS Count Data

by CI Communications | Jul 17, 2023 | Health and Development, Oregon Research, News, What We're Reading

In June, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released its 2023 KIDS COUNT data book with national and state-level data on child well-being across four core areas: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. The 34th edition of this critical assessment shows ways each state is fighting to care for families, but also ways in which the country’s lack of affordable and accessible child care negatively affects children, families and U.S. businesses.

From the KIDS COUNT Data Book website:

This year’s Data Book presents a picture of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted child well-being in the United States, making comparisons between 2019 and 2021 where possible. As the nation recovers from the coronavirus crisis, the latest data on the well-being of kids, youth and families can be found in the KIDS COUNT Data Center at datacenter.aecf.org.

Overall, Oregon ranked 26th in the nation across categories, finishing relatively high in the health-related categories and contrastingly low across the board in education. Read through the breakdown of categories below to get a closer look at how Oregon compares nationally in these key indicators, and learn about what CI is doing to improve child well-being and early education.

Economic Well-Being

Currently, 17 percent of all children in the United States — 12.2 million kids total — are living in poverty. In Oregon, this percentage is slightly lower, affecting 14 percent, but still greatly increasing the risks of social emotional, behavioral and health challenges for children across the state.
Oregon has higher rates than the national average of children whose parents lack secure employment as well as households with a high housing cost burden. Economic challenges of this nature are entrenched in systemic oppression and lack of access to resources that should be available for all.
To directly combat these difficult circumstances and fight for better futures, CI advocates for legislation that increases employment opportunities and child care facilities for families across the state.

Health

Health is Oregon’s highest ranking of the KIDS COUNT Data Book at #7 nationally.
Though the state’s rate of children with health insurance and death of young folks per 100,000 people is better than the national average, these categories have worsened for Oregon over the past two years.
Additionally, more progress must be made in Oregon for research and care addressing children’s social, emotional and mental health metric. At CI, we are working with the Oregon Pediatric Improvement Partnership (OPIP) to 1) Gather insightful health complexity data, 2) Shift attention to social emotional health services for children from birth to age 5, and 3) Help Oregon’s Medicaid system focus on prevention and investment in young children. Learn more in our recent podcast, Taking Action to Improve Social Emotional Services for Young Children: The Power of Data and Metrics.

Family and Community

Examining the resources and support available to families through community is a critical component of the two-generation approach to ending poverty: looking to the needs of parents and children at the same time so that both can succeed together. When communities offer safety, good schools, and accessible support for families at every socioeconomic level, children are more likely to thrive.
From our community-integrated Early Works programs to the mission of our Early Learning Academy, CI is working to help schools and care providers engage community partners, improve practices, and foster meaningful connections with families. As a result, our partners build strong ties that can lead to better outcomes for children across the state.

Education

Early academic experiences lay the groundwork for lifelong success, yet our country consistently fails to provide sufficient access for early education. The same rings true in Oregon, where every county could be categorized as a child care desert and a growing percentage of children aged 3-4 are not in school.
In CI’s programmatic initiatives and across our legislative agenda, we are working to support more access to preschool and higher support for literacy across the state. Learn more about our Campaign for Grade Level Reading as well as our 2023 Oregon Legislative Session wins for early learning (including launching a NEW state agency, the Department of Early Learning and Care).

For more of the latest data from KIDS COUNT, head to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s website to explore their interactive map of 2023 findings.

Nurturing Child Development Through Inclusive Stories: A Conversation with JaNay Brown-Wood

by CI Communications | Jul 5, 2023 | Podcast

Summary

On this episode of the Early Link Podcast, host Rafael Otto sits down with JaNay Brown-Wood, an award-winning children’s author, poet, educator and scholar. She writes about stories that celebrate diversity, inclusivity, self-esteem, and learning.

JaNay’s first children’s book, “Imani’s Moon,” was published in 2014 and won the NAESP Children’s Book of the Year Award, and was featured on Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show,” and Storytime with the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

During this episode, JaNay shares how her personal experiences and passion for child development and supporting children, led her to write children’s books with an emphasis on diversity, representation, and inclusivity. She also talks about the importance of engaging young children in language and how this sets the foundation for building early literacy skills. JaNay shares her creative storytelling process and offers words of wisdom to listeners about pursuing their creative dreams. Finally, she talks about infant development and her hopes and dreams for young children.

More about The Early Link Podcast

The Early Link Podcast highlights national, regional, and local voices working in early childhood education and the nonprofit sector. The podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Rafael Otto, Children’s Institute’s director of communications.

Children's Institute · Nurturing Child Development Through Inclusive Stories: A Conversation with JaNay Brown-Wood

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