As requested by the Legislature, Washington state’s Home Visiting Advisory Committee — consisting of home visiting providers, advocates, state agency partners and other allied professionals — recently outlined an ambitious path to strengthen the state’s home visiting system. Submitted to the Washington state Legislature and the Department of Children, Youth and Families, this plan makes essential recommendations to improve equity in the home visiting system, ensure a skilled and sustainable workforce and expand home visiting access to additional families.

Many of the recommendations identify strategies that are within the Department of Children, Youth and Families’ administrative power to implement while others will require additional investment from the Legislature.

Recommendation Highlights

A comprehensive overview of the recommendations is available on the Department of Children, Youth and Families website. In summary, the recommendations focus on the following areas of improvement:

Promote Equity: Washington must support a range of home visiting programs that meet the needs of diverse communities; ensure parent, community and provider voice is embedded in decision-making; and recruit and retain a workforce representative of families served.

Strengthen the Workforce: Home visitors have continued to provide essential supports to families, yet the workforce is under tremendous stress with higher than usual attrition in the past two years. The recommendations include investing in wages – including addressing racial and positional wage disparities; increasing access to professional development; and assessing home visitor caseloads and administrative burden.

Systems Improvements: To create a stable, sustainable and scalable home visiting system, the recommendations include completing a cost study to inform contracting to better reflect the true cost of the service; funding adjustments that promote equity; and streamlined data strategies.

Start Early Washington supports the recommendations submitted by the Home Visiting Advisory Committee. We are committed to working with our public and private sector partners to create comprehensive implementation plans with a strategic direction to build an equitable home visiting system that supports children and families in Washington state.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re commemorating women’s vital impact and accomplishments on society.

Our Start Early staff members: Keneischia Jones, health coordinator, Early Head Start Network; Rio Romero-Jurado, policy manager, National Policy and Kayla Goldfarb, policy specialist, Illinois Policy shared how their womanhood has influenced their career journey, the crucial importance of pay equity in early childhood and the need for inclusion and continued progress for all women.

How has being a woman influenced your identity?

Keneischia Jones: Being a woman of color is my daily makeup. I get to wake up and change my hair and wear my afro today because that’s what I’m feeling. I’ve become the young Black woman that I wanted to be when I was younger and I wasn’t able to present like this. Now as a woman I have my bearings and I can show the world who I am at all times.

Rio Romero-Jurado: My identity in being a woman and a woman of color in particular has really shaped my values, social conscience and the kind of person I want to be and what I want to contribute to the world. I came to social work, policy and advocacy because I was naturally drawn to eliminating inequities in our society and empowering other women through social change and action.

That’s part of why I love what I do. Even in elementary school I really loved social studies. I recognized pretty early on that there was an underrepresentation, we all know, of women and people of color at our highest levels of government. I think that’s really further motivated me to embrace my identity as a woman and to be part of an organization to help ensure that women and the issues that matter to them and their families are prioritized in our society and in policy.

Kayla Goldfarb: There are so many things that have been shared that really resonated with me and are really energizing. Being a woman has influenced my identity in that I don’t feel limited in any way. But I also recognize how much of a privilege that is when you look at women globally and locally because that is not always the case. I’ve begun to understand the breadth of how people experience being a woman from a race, class, location and lived experience perspective. It’s been mind opening.

Each year, we celebrate Black History Month to recognize the contributions and influence of African Americans to the history, culture and achievements of the United States.

Our Start Early staff members: Erice Evans, senior financial analyst; Stuart Lassiter, early childhood practice consultant; Kristie Norwood, education manager for the Early Head Start and Head Start Network of Illinois shared how their heritage has shaped their identity and impacted their work, how they maintain their culture and why it’s important to recognize Black History Month.

How do you feel that your African American heritage has influenced your identity and what do you appreciate most about being Black?

Kristie Norwood: What I appreciate most about being Black is being Black. It is a heritage and legacy of strength and strong traditions of faith and family. I love that feeling of coming into a room and even if there’s only one other Black person there is an immediate connection of knowing each other.

Erice Evans: We come from a very rich background and history that I appreciate as I’m older now that I didn’t really know to appreciate growing up. I love the melanin and the different colors, characteristics, traits and everything that makes us a beautiful people from the outside to the inside. My [African American] heritage has made me who I am today.

Stuart Lassiter: Being Black is my identity and it’s how I’m recognized by others and also how I recognize myself. My family has always stressed what it means to be a Black male. The idea that I heard from my great grandfather, grandfather and uncles of being the best you can be because you have to work from a place of excellence to be seen as being good.

One thing I truly appreciate is our strength, perseverance and striving to always overcome. It’s amazing that we’ve come so far and still have so far to go.

Erice Evans: I love that you mention strength because it is part of our heritage. We were taught the skills to overcome anything. If you get knocked down get back up and keep fighting. We don’t stay down.

Each year, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to recognize the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture and achievements of the United States.

Our staff members shared how their heritage has shaped their identity and impacted their work, how they maintain their culture and why it’s important to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month.

Can you introduce yourself and share what you do here at Start Early and how your Hispanic heritage influenced your identity?

Nilda Barrett: I’m a financial manager supporting 15 divisions and have been at Start Early for almost two years. I’m Puerto Rican, born and raised in Chicago and I’m the second youngest of seven children. My parents came to the States when they were very young and met here in Chicago. They taught me and my siblings the importance of education and working hard to get the things you need. We lived in mainly Hispanic neighborhoods, so I grew up around Cubans, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and was exposed to a little bit of everything and got to see how hard people worked. The person I am today, my ambition, everything is inspired by my upbringing and due to my culture.

Yáyá Cardenas Torres: I’m a training institute coordinator for the Professional Learning Network and I’ve been with Start Early for 14 years. I’m Mexican American born and raised in Indiana and I’m a proud Hoosier. My mother was born and raised in Texas and my father was born and raised in Michoacán, Mexico. I am the only girl out of five brothers.

With my mother being Tex-Mex and my dad being Mexican, I had two cultures: One uses cheddar and one uses Chihuahua, but together they are perfect on a burrito. My culture has made me who I am. My upbringing, my loyalty, my faith, my passion… it is who I am and I apply it to my professional and personal life.

Alexis Aguilú Hernandez: I’m the assistant director of operations for the Educare Learning Network and have been at Start Early for 14 years as well. I’m one of two and was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I left the island at the age of 20 to attend Marquette University in Wisconsin and stayed here. I have a ton of family in the Midwest.

Puerto Rican is who I am. I live my life as a Puerto Rican and I love my Puerto Rican heritage. I get chills every time that I go home. On the flight home, I always plan to sit by the window so I can see the whole island as we descend. It’s who I am, it’s family and how I grew up. Seeing the flag, it’s who I am and I like to share that with others who may not understand what being Puerto Rican and Latinx is.

How has your Hispanic heritage impacted your daily work to advance our mission and better serve children and families? 

Alexis Aguilú Hernandez: I always say that my Hispanic background is not only what identifies me, but what defines me. Being a Hispanic immigrant allows me to better understand the challenges that many of our Hispanic children and families go through and focuses my commitment to do everything I can to help them close that opportunity gap once and for all.

I have been able to use Spanish several times in my role at Start Early. We started sending out text messages to families and I would translate them into Spanish. Most recently, at the Educare Learning Network, I helped review our network requirements and Child Tax Credit communications in Spanish. Knowing languages opens your mind to the world.

Yáyá Cardenas Torres: Being Mexican American and bilingual provides me with cultural sensitivity and enables me to better serve our Spanish-speaking clients. My parents also taught me to have a solid work ethic, ambition and commitment which I use in my daily work.

What do you appreciate most about your Hispanic culture? 

How do you preserve your Hispanic culture?

Yáyá Cardenas Torres: I try to preserve our culture with food. Any gathering we host, I’ll cook Mexican dishes. My dad and I both have gardens and I love to make homemade salsa using everything from jalapeños to habaneros and Anaheim chili peppers and share it with everyone. I feel very close to my mom when I make salsa because I remember growing up she would make it and give it away to our neighbors. I also share my culture with my son and foster kids: we celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and Día de los Niños (Day of the Children). I try to incorporate it everywhere I can.

Nilda Barrett: Similar to Yáyá, we are very family oriented. We took a trip to Puerto Rico in 2018 and are looking to go again next year. Everything from la música — salsa, merengue, reggaeton, bachata — to la comida. My mom will come over and make pastelitos (a Puerto Rican pastry filled with guava and cheese) and my four kids love them. I also instill in my kids the importance of learning Spanish because being bilingual is such an asset. 

How would you describe the diversity within your family?

Are there any misconceptions about Hispanic culture that you want to dispel?

Why is it important to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and recognize the impact Hispanic people have had within the U.S.?

Nilda Barrett: Hispanic culture has contributed so much to the development of the United States over the years and it just keeps growing. This month really helps people recognize the complexities, histories and richness of the different Hispanic cultures. It’s very important to celebrate Hispanic heritage.

In-person conferences are back! This August, Start Early president Diana Rauner and I joined leading minds in technology and education from across the country in San Diego for the 2021 ASU+GSV Summit. With awareness of the importance of early childhood education and the care economy at an all-time high, more than a dozen sessions at this year’s conference explored critical issues facing our field, including kindergarten readiness, equity and workforce development.

Last month, families across the country began receiving the first payments under the Advance Child Tax Credit (ACTA), a part of the American Rescue Plan Act. For many families with young children, like Educare Chicago parent Cheryse Singleton-Nobles, the expanded Child Tax Credit offers integral support that increases their ability to provide a stable environment and experiences for their children to thrive.

“A lot of us are struggling. Even though the pandemic is ending, that doesn’t end the financial impacts it created,” Cheryse shares.

Across the nation, even as employment is rising and strains on household budgets have eased in recent months families continue to struggle. One in three adults with children report difficulty covering usual household expenses, and one in eight report their families don’t have enough to eat. This financial strain and chronic stress can undermine young children’s sense of security, safety and joy. If prolonged, it can have a negative, long-term impact on their development.

“If it’s stressful for an adult, imagine how stressful this time has been for young children whose entire routine was disturbed,” Cheryse continues. “The Child Tax Credit puts us in a place of peace so that we can be in a better mental state to focus on doing more for our children and not worrying as much about things getting turned off or bills not being paid.”

The expanded Child Tax Credit will help directly alleviate the strain that so many families are experiencing on multiple fronts. Eligible families will receive up to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17, with half made available to families in advance through six monthly payments and the rest claimed when they file their tax returns.

Many organizations, including our own Educare Learning Network, are proactively reaching out to educate families on the tax filing process and helping them take full advantage of the Child Tax Credit. At Educare Chicago, “staff let us know it was coming, who to contact and offered to assist with the tax filing process,” Cheryse shares.

As part of Start Early’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB), we strive to nurture and embrace racial, cultural and linguistically diverse teaching and learning environments. We know these diverse and inclusive environments unify our field and ensure equitable access to high-quality early childhood experiences. We are embarking on a journey to translate our professional development and research into languages other than English, starting with Spanish. Our goal is to be more inclusive of early childhood educators, parents and leaders that represent the populations we serve and who strive in their own role to support those who need us the most, our youngest children.

Over the past many years, my bilingual colleagues and I translated documents and resources into other languages (including Spanish), to meet the linguistic needs of the participants we support and serve. Nevertheless, the translations themselves, the process and the extra workload were not sustainable and needed to improve. Having multiple experiences with schools, centers and organizations throughout the early childhood field, we know these challenges are not limited to Start Early.

We launched a project to increase the accessibility of our training materials to better serve adult learners and support their professional development. The purpose of our project was to develop a process to translate trainings, materials and resources to increase Start Early’s ability and capacity to serve linguistically diverse customers. In addition, we designed a process to ensure the quality of the translations and the sustainability of the process itself. We kicked off the project with Start Early’s Essentials of Home Visiting – accredited online courses and webinars to support home visiting in any model.

Supporting Black fathers in their role as a child’s first and most important teacher is an investment in our children and our communities. This Father’s Day, let’s intentionally change the narrative, advocate for local, state and federal policies that benefit Black fathers and promote positive and culturally relevant parent and home visiting programs that benefit early childhood development.

Learn more about my work and continue to follow this blog for the latest updates from Start Early.

For me, Juneteenth represents a day of connection past, present and future — all existing in one day. I think of my grandparents who were part of the Great Migration from the South in the early 50s. They left Mississippi with seven children, in hopes of finding a better life and future for their family. Conditions of economic hardship, segregation and discrimination in the South had made it necessary to seek out better and safer places to live. I stand in the present thinking of all the opportunities that have been afforded to me through the blood, sweat and sacrifices of all the people who came before me and have fought for the rights and privileges I have. I look to my son, as the future, in hopes his generation will be the first to completely dismantle systems of injustice. Juneteenth is a day of hope, where the worries of yesterday are gone, and the burden of tomorrow has not quite come. It is the moment in time where the impossible suddenly feels possible.

On June 19, 1865, Union Gen. Gordon Granger and 2,000 Union Troops arrived in Galveston, Texas issued an order officially freeing the slaves. I know you might think, “Wasn’t the Emancipation Proclamation signed in 1863?” Yes, it was, but unfortunately people who lived in more remote areas still lived as they were enslaved. After slavery ended, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country. Juneteenth is about capturing this hope and renewing the energy of all the work that has been done and still needs to happen in this country. Juneteenth is U.S. history.

There are so many ways to celebrate and honor Juneteenth. Here are a few ways we all can get involved:

• Learn more about black history and Juneteenth. Read a book, watch a movie, listen to a podcast, listen to the Emancipation Proclamation on YouTube. Take time to learn more about the stories and experiences of black people in the U.S.
• Celebrate cook a big meal, have a barbecue, attend an event in your area or online.
• Shop support black-owned businesses or black causes.
• Connect with family, friends, people in your community this day is all about coming together.

When one story stops, another begins. While we all know that the end of slavery gave way to new atrocities and injustices for black people across the U.S., Juneteenth is an opportunity to take pride in how far we’ve come and recommit ourselves to the ongoing fight to end racial injustices.

Here are some virtual and in-person events that you can check out:

Virtual Events (all times Central)

Looking Ahead to Juneteenth: Centering Black Parents Voices in the Age of COVID-19 and Racial Reckoning, Thursday, June 17, 12 p.m.

Inaugural Juneteenth Reading Circle: Richard Wright Thursday, June 17, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

Virtual Juneteenth Celebration Eiteljorg Museum 

The Amistad Center for Art & Culture 30th Annual Juneteenth Celebration Saturday, June 19, 5:30 p.m. 

Step Afrika! Juneteenth Virtual Celebration Saturday, June 19, 7 p.m. 

A Juneteenth Commemoration Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed Saturday, June 19, 2 p.m. 

In-Person Events (Chicago Area)

Juneteenth Black to Life Celebration Saturday, June 19, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Location: Behind Museum of Science and Industry 

Juneteenth Ride Saturday, June 19, 12– 2:30 p.m., Wintrust Arena 

Juneteenth at Sculpture Park Saturday, June 19, 1– 4 p.m., Location Sculpture Park, Governors State University, University Park, IL (Limited Capacity – please visit link and RSVP if planning to attend) 

2nd Annual Rich Auntie Energy Juneteenth Bonfire Saturday, June 19, 6 p.m. – Midnight, Central, Promontory Point, Hyde Park 

Homewood-Flossmoor Juneteenth Festival Saturday, June 19, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m., Homewood-Flossmoor High School 

In this blog, Amanda Stein, director of research and evaluation, discusses new research with Start Early, NORC at the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Read the full report.

Current Opportunities

Coming off the heels of the pandemic, the massive influx of federal spending on early childhood care and education (ECCE) offers systems, district and program leaders an opportunity to intentionally design and implement equity-focused policies and practices that ensure families and children — especially young children living in marginalized, under-served or otherwise vulnerable communities — have access and are engaged in high quality early learning experiences.

Young children, their families, and our broader society are unable to reap the benefits of quality ECCE programs if children and families are not able to access them. Existing research evidence shows that differential access is an important contributing factor to inequities in enrollment. There is an enormous body of work about the long-term benefits associated with quality care and education in a child’s earliest years, including the recent research evidence coming out of Boston, that makes disparities in access to programming particularly concerning.

Prior Research Findings

Our previous work in Chicago found that after major policy changes focused on reallocating pre-K classrooms to specific schools and neighborhoods throughout the city and increasing the overall number of full-day, pre-K classrooms — both access and enrollment improved for high-priority student groups (students of color, students speaking a language other than English and students living in neighborhoods with lower income and higher unemployment). Furthermore, we found a persistent link between access to and enrollment in full-day, school-based pre-K. In other words, living closer to a school with full-day pre-K increased a child’s likelihood of enrolling, especially for high-priority student groups.  Learn more about our earlier research findings.

Newest Research Findings: Evidence of Improved Student Outcomes Linked to Policies Focused on Equity in Preschool Access
Recent research from Start Early with NORC at the University of Chicago and the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research examines if and how these pre-K policy changes intended to increase access and enrollment to full-day pre-K are related to later student outcomes. We found that these equity-centered policies at the pre-K level in Chicago created a pathway to higher test scores and grades in second grade. Specifically, these policy shifts were related to higher kindergarten entry skills and ultimately better academic outcomes in second grade, particularly for high-priority students. Reading test scores in second grade also increased among Black students and students in the lowest income group. Importantly, the pathway from full-day pre-K to better second grade outcomes proved especially strong among Black students, students in the lowest-income group, and students living in mostly-Black neighborhoods.

Policy Implications and Directions for Future Research
Overall, the study provides evidence that the geographic placement of school-based, full-day pre-K classrooms is an important mechanism for advancing equity in pre-K access and enrollment and for improved academic achievement in early elementary school, especially for high-priority student groups. In particular the pathway from full-day pre-K to better second grade outcomes proved especially strong among Black students, students in the lowest-income group, and students living in mostly-Black neighborhoods.

Not unexpectedly, the long-term increases in outcomes following Chicago’s access-focused pre-K policy changes account for a relatively small portion of the overall disparities in academic outcomes between student groups. In other words, point-in-time policy changes at the pre-K grade level alone cannot fully address the effects of long-standing systemic inequities within and beyond the educational system. We must work toward building a comprehensive, equity-centered ECCE system that acknowledges the infrastructural role that early care and learning play in the overall economy.

Nonetheless, this research evidence demonstrates that access to full-day pre-K is an important policy strategy that ECCE systems and district leaders can leverage to advance more equitable access and improve academic outcomes in later years. Current ECCE systems and policy conditions are ripe with opportunity for cities and districts to expand full-day pre-K close to where historically underserved students live. It is also possible that the pandemic has led to changes in families’ needs and priorities for care and learning experiences for their children. Therefore, systems and district leaders should develop strategies to actively engage families about their needs, worries, and considerations in addition to location of full-day pre-k and to support families’ awareness and reduce barriers to enrollment in those options. And researchers should continue to study the effectiveness of those efforts. Other key policies beyond access to pre-K must be considered, including policies that support improved classroom quality and family engagement within pre-K settings, support preschool-to-3rd grade instructional alignment, and reduction of poverty and violence as multiple approaches that move us to a time and space where sociodemographic characteristics are not determinants of student outcomes.