1. Five Steps for State and Community Leaders to Increase Equitable Access to Early Care and Education
- Author
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Child Trends, Ashley Hirilall, Sarah Daily, Zoelene Hill, Catherine Schaefer, and Dayne Ornelas Gonzalez
- Abstract
Long-standing discriminatory practices and systematic barriers have perpetuated inequitable access to early childhood resources and opportunities for families living in the United States due to race and ethnicity, income, geographic location, primary languages, gender, and other characteristics. To adequately understand whether child care is accessible from families' perspectives, Child Trends and a panel of researchers and state policymakers created a family-centered definition of access called the Access Framework. This framework considers family needs and preferences when accessing programs and services and allows state and community leaders to define, measure, and assess families' access to early care and education. This brief first presents case studies to highlight efforts from three states using the Access Framework to engage community-based partners and families in identifying and addressing barriers to equitable access and concludes with five concrete steps that state and community leaders can take to promote equitable access to ECE.
- Published
- 2023
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