TKW Consulting

Is Early Development Stalling?
By Kelly Wilson
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

A report released Tuesday that says national trends in child well-being are no longer improving in the steady way they did in the late 1990s pays particular attention to the critical role of early childhood development.

"Strengthening early childhood development can help to assure that all children begin life on a level playing field," said Douglas W. Nelson, president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which released the annual Kids Count Data Book.

The report zeroes in on a form of child care that has existed for decades but has largely been overlooked — family, friend and neighbor care that is offered in a home-based setting outside a child's own home.

This includes caregivers who are paid to work with small groups of children in their homes and who do so as a business enterprise, as well as the grandparents, aunts and other relatives who open their homes daily to help family members, often for free. Some 6.5 million children under age 6 spend all or part of their time in family, friend or neighbor care, the report says.

"The Casey Foundation recognizes the value of quality center-based care and the impact it has had on generations of kids from all economic backgrounds. However, the reality is that (family, friend and neighbor) care has and will continue to play a role in the lives of so many families," Nelson said.

"Casey is making a strong commitment to attend to the most promising strategies that can strengthen this form of care, particularly for low-income families."

The foundation says that nationwide relatively few organized efforts exist to enhance the quality of the care these child care providers deliver. Karen Points, director of the
West Central Child Care Connection based in Quincy, says programs are available locally, from training sessions to a resource library to in-home activities.

"An indicator of quality is the amount of training and education the child care provider has," Points said. "There are a lot of things available to them. Our trainings are open to them, and many of them are free."

Points says the organization can't possibly be aware of all the people who provide family, friend and neighbor care. But it does send mailings to those who participate in the state's Child Care Assistance Program, which provides subsidized child care to low-income families.

About 900 families in a nine-county area — Adams, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Greene, Hancock, Jersey, Pike and Schuyler — are actively enrolled in the state's program. Points says about 30 percent of those families use friend, family and neighbor care or license-exempt care, which means the provider cares for three children or fewer, including at least one of his or her own children.

Training sessions are offered in a variety of subjects relating to quality child care and parenting. In addition, staff members are available to conduct one-hour literacy visits.

"One of our specialists reads a story to the children. They talk about all the characters and it's often very animated, and sometimes she's even in a costume," Points said. "She also does an art activity. We want the provider to be in the room to see how she can begin encouraging literacy with the children."

The Casey Foundation offers other examples for advancing the quality of friend, family and neighbor care, such as:
* Delivering education materials through home visiting programs;
* Developing resource hubs where providers can interact with child development
professionals, including those working in child care centers; and
* Connecting providers to community institutions, such as museums or libraries, where they can access new resources and share ideas with other providers.

"We believe that strengthening the quality of family, friend and neighbor care, particularly in America's low-income communities, is a significant opportunity to improve school readiness for the millions of kids who need it most," Nelson said.

In addition to the focus on early childhood development, the 2006 Kids Count Data Book measures each state's progress on 10 statistics, including infant mortality, poverty rates, single-parent families and babies born with low birth weights.

Fewer teenagers are having babies or dropping out of high school since the start of the decade, but slightly more live in poverty with parents who don't work year round. States in the Northeast and upper Midwest scored the best. At the top: New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota and Iowa. Southern states did the worst: Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, South Carolina and Tennessee. Illinois ranked 24th and showed improvement in six of the 10 measures, no change in one and setbacks in three. Missouri ranked 30th, with improvement in five areas, no change in two and setbacks in three.

// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:50 PM