Page ii
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
The study was supported by Grant No. 90XP0008/01 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
International Standard Book Number 0-309-0757509
Additional copies of this report are available from the
National Academy Press
,
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
,
Lock Box
285,
Washington, D.C.
20055
.
Call (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area)
This report is also available online at http://www.nap.edu
Printed in the United States of America
Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences.
All rights reserved.
Suggested citation: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine (2001) Getting to Positive Outcomes for Children in Child Care: A Summary of Two Workshops. Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Page iii
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Page v
BOARD ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES
1999-2000
JACK P. SHONKOFF (Chair), Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University
EVAN CHARNEY (Vice Chair), Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts
JAMES A. BANKS, Center for Multicultural Education, University of Washington
SHEILA BURKE, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
DAVID CARD, Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
DONALD COHEN, Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, Yale University
MINDY FULLILOVE, Columbia University
KEVIN GRUMBACH, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Primary Care Research Center, University of California, San Francisco
MAXINE HAYES, Department of Community and Family Health, Washington State Department of Health
MARGARET HEAGARTY, Department of Pediatrics, Harlem Hospital Center, Columbia University
RENEE JENKINS, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University
SHEILA KAMERMAN, School of Social Work, Columbia University
HARRIET KITZMAN, School of Nursing, University of Rochester
SANDERS KORENMAN, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College
CINDY LEDERMAN, Circuit Court, Juvenile Justice Center, Dade County, Florida
SARA McLANAHAN, Office of Population Research, Princeton University
VONNIE McLOYD, Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan
PAUL NEWACHECK, Institute of Health Policy Studies and Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
GARY SANDEFUR, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Page vi
RUTH STEIN, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
PAUL WISE, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center
RUTH T. GROSS (Liaison, IOM Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention), Professor of Pediatrics (Emerita), Stanford University
ELEANOR E. MACCOBY (Liaison, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education), Department of Psychology (Emerita), Stanford University
WILLIAM ROPER (Liaison, IOM Council), Institute of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Michele D. Kipke, Director
Mary Graham, Associate Director, Dissemination and Communications
Elena Nightingale, Scholar-in-Residence
Page vii
Contents
|
Page ix
Preface
In response to a request from the Child Care Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Board on Children, Youth, and Families convened two workshops to review current and emerging efforts to establish performance measures for early childhood programs. At each workshop, experts in the fields of child development, child care, early intervention, program evaluation, performance measurement, statistics, and public policy and administration examined lessons learned from performance measurement initiatives in other policy areas, such as public health. They also considered criteria for developing performance measures for child care, including the range of content areas that such measures might encompass and the challenges associated with measuring the performance of a service sector, particularly those that relate to aspects of measurement, data availability, and data aggregation.
The first workshop, which was held on September 27-28, 1999, addressed the current status of national and state efforts to assess the performance of child care and early childhood education, as well as lessons learned from efforts to establish performance measures in other domains of public policy. The second workshop, which was held February 28-29, 2000, focused on the challenges inherent in establishing criteria for assessing the quality of child care programs and examined their implications for developing and implementing performance measures for the field. Discussion also centered on the content areas that research suggests should be included
Page x
in such measures and the hurdles in moving beyond conceptualizing performance measures to developing and implementing them. A major focus of the discussions was on improving the quality of child care for all children, not just those receiving subsidies. This report summarizes the proceedings from both workshops.
This report reflects the presentations and perspectives of the presenters and participants. It is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all the issues involved in assessing and measuring child care and early childhood services. Rather, it attempts to highlight key issues and viewpoints that emerged from the rich discussions that took place. The information distilled in this summary is drawn from the presentations of the speakers and the dialogue that ensued. Every effort has been made to accurately reflect the speakers' content and viewpoints, but the summary is not intended as a critical review of the research and program efforts described.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee of the National Research Council. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Ann Collins, National Center for Children in Poverty, School of Public Health, Columbia University; Aletha C. Huston, Department of Human Ecology, University of Texas, Austin; and Heather Weiss, Harvard Family Research Project, Harvard University.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Ruth T. Gross, professor of pediatrics, Stanford University (emerita). Appointed by the National Research Council, she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring panel and the institution.
The Board on Children, Youth, and Families thanks all who partici-
Page xi
pated in the workshops on child care performance measures and shared their expertise through stimulating discussions. In particular, the Board is grateful to the Child Care Bureau of the Administration on Children and Families, which sponsored the workshop. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Stacie Goffin in both the workshops and the development of this publication. Thanks go also to the board staff who organized the workshops and helped to prepare this volume: Yonette Thomas oversaw the planning and undertaking of the workshops and was a guiding force in developing this publication; Karen Autry coordinated meeting logistics; Mary Graham and consultant Cheryl Greenhouse provided valuable editorial coordination and assistance.
Michele D. Kipke, Director
Board on Children, Youth, and Families