Governors Summit: Partnerships and Possibilities

1
Advancing Conditions for Floridas Children
Policy Matters

• Governors Summit Partnerships and Possibilities
• Education, Workforce, and Economic Development
• Orlando, Florida
• Tampa, Florida
• Sharon Lynn Kagan, Ed.D.
• Teachers College, Columbia University
• January, 2008

2
Presentation Overview

• Floridas Commitment to Young Children
• Policy Matters Floridas Systems Planning
  Foundation
• Next Steps for Florida

3
Section IFloridas Commitment to Young
Children
4
Floridas Commitment to Young Children

• Florida has
• The Structures
• The History
• The Knowledge
• The People

5
Floridas Commitment to Young Children

• We have an obligation to protect the most
  vulnerable among us, our children. I am
  confident the Childrens Cabinet will streamline
  the distribution of critical services to ensure
  that Florida will
• remain the best place to grow up.
• - Governor Charlie Crist

Source Childrens Campaign. (2007). Cabinet to
focus on childrens needs. Retrieved October 16,
2007 from http//www.iamforkids.org/newsdata/view_
ind/3803
6
Floridas Commitment to Young Children

• Crist is joined by the Florida Legislature
• in being committed to advancing the well-being of
  the states children
• Florida has worked for a long time
• to get kids a seat at the table
• Today, were giving them the table
• heres a whole cabinet that will be working for
• their needs.
• - Rep. Loranne Ausley

Source Childrens Campaign. (2007). Cabinet to
focus on childrens needs. Retrieved October 16,
2007 from http//www.iamforkids.org/newsdata/view_
ind/3803
7
Floridas Commitment to Young Children

• Florida has actualized this commitment by
  creating
• the Children and Youth Cabinet!!!

8
Floridas Commitment to Young Children

• But the Cabinet is not the only structure there
  are a host of other organizations working in the
  state
• Childrens Services Councils
• Early Learning Coalitions
• Floridas Early Learning Advisory Council
• The Policy Group for Floridas Families and
  Children
• The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation
• The Childrens Forum
• Ounce of Prevention
• United Way
• Healthy Families

9
Florida Has Been an ECE Leader for a Long Time

• Florida has a history of interagency coordination
  dating back to the 1980s
• Councils provide special education services for
  very young children under the Department of
  Health and Rehabilitative Services.
• Agencies and community services collaborate at
  the program level, spurred by the Florida
  Prekindergarten Early Intervention Program, to
  promote school readiness among low-income
  preschoolers.

10
Floridas Commitment to Young Children

• Florida has the knowledge
• Neurological and Medical Science
• Social Science and Intervention Research
• Economics and Cost-Benefit Research

11
Neurological and Medical Science

• Floridians understand that
• The architecture of the brain is not fully
  assembled at birth.
• Brains are built over time.
• The early years are the formative period of
  development, with the human brain growing to 80
  of adult size by age 3, and 90 by age 5.

Source Shokoff, J. P. Phillips, D. A. (2000).
From neurons to neighborhoods The science of
early childhood development. Washington, DC, US
National Academy Press.
12
Social Science and Intervention Research

• Floridians know that
• Children in high-quality early childhood programs
  have been found to
• Form closer and more secure attachments with
  teachers.
• Show more positive interactions with peers.
• Have larger vocabularies.
• Show better pre-reading and pre-math skills.
• Cognitive and socio-emotional benefits continue
  well into the elementary school years.

Source Burchinal, M. R., Roberts, J. E., Nabors,
L. A., Bryant, D. (1996). Quality of center
child care and infant cognition and la.nguage
development. Child Development, 67, 606-620
Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes Study Team.
(1995). Cost, quality, and child outcomes in
child care centers. Denver Economics Department,
University of Colorado. Hestenes, L. L., Kontos,
S., Bryan, Y. (1993). Childrens emotional
expression in child care centers varying in
quality. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 8,
295-307 Howes, C., Phillips, D. A., Whitebook,
M. (1992). Thresholds of quality Implications
for the social development of children in
center-based child care. Child Development, 63,
449-460. Peisner-Feinberg et al. (2001). The
relation of preschool child-care quality to
childrens cognitive and social developmental
trajectories through second grade. Child
Development, 72(5), 1534-1553.
13
Econometric and Cost-Benefit Analyses

• Floridians know that
• High quality early childhood programs are an
  extraordinary financial investment.
• For every 1 invested in high-quality early
  childhood education, over 17 are returned to
  society.

Source Schweinhart, L. (2005). The Perry results
through age 40. Retrieved September 25, 2007 from
http//www.highscope.org/file/Research/PerryProjec
t/PerryApril_20052.pps
14
Econometric and Cost-Benefit Analyses

• Floridians understand that
• High-quality early childhood education produce
  social impacts and societal gains
• Lower rates of crime and incarceration
• Higher rates of employment and lifetime earnings
• Greater tax revenue
• Higher rates of homeownership
• Reduced welfare and social service costs

Source Schweinhart, L. J., Montie, J., Xiang,
Z., Barnett, W. S., Belfield, C. R., Nores, M.
(in press). Lifetime effects The High/Scope
Perry Preschool study through age 40. (Monographs
of the High/Scope Educational Research
Foundation, 14). Ypsilanti, MI High/Scope Press.
15
But Floridians Know that All is Not Well

• Per capita revenue (2004) from
• No personal income tax
• Corporate income tax 83 (ranks 28th)
• Property tax 1,064 (ranks 20th)
• State and local general sales tax 1,035 (ranks
  9th)
• State spending (2005-06)
• Per 3-year-old child 0
• Per 4-year-old child enrolled in Pre-K 2,163
• Per child enrolled in K-12 9,739

16
Floridians Also Know

• Floridas 1.3 million young children face unique
  challenges
• 19 live in poverty, and 43 are low income 33
  of children live in families where no parent has
  full-time, year-round employment.
• 32 of children live in single-parent families.
• Florida ranks 35th in resources expended on state
  prekindergarten, and Floridas education system
  was graded C by Quality Counts.
• Florida provides low child care reimbursements
  for too few families (those at 145 of the FPL)
  it condones high child teacher ratios and does
  not offer an infant/toddler credential.

Source Education Week. (2008). Quality Counts
2008. NCCP. (2007). State Profiles Florida.
NIEER. (2007). The State of Preschool 2006. Kids
Count. (2007). Profiles by Geographic Area gt
Florida. Available online http//www.kidscount.or
g/datacenter/profile_results.jsp?r11d1.
17
Floridas Commitment to Young Children

• Floridians want to know why these discrepancies
  exist they want to examine their policies
  regarding young children.
• Enter
• POLICY MATTERS.

18
Section IIPolicy Matters Floridas Systems
Planning Foundation
19
What is Policy Matters?

• Highlights state policies that support an early
  childhood system
• Children birth to age 8
• Both public and private providers
• Home-, center-, school-, and community-based
  programs
• Statewide implementation

20
What is Policy Matters?

• Addresses the field-based gap between
• a Visions of an early childhood system
• AND
• b Realities of fragmented policies that address
  the vision
• Converts long-term planning into concrete policy
  decisions

21
Policy Matters Why Its Different

• It is SYSTEMIC
• it addresses the entire system of early
  childhood,
• not just one age group or one component.

Comprehensive Services VIII. Health, Mental
Health, Oral Health
Governance VI. Governance and Coordination
BIRTH
AGE 5
AGE 8
22
What is Policy Matters?

• It is research based.
• It is a highly inclusive process.
• The Policy Group for Floridas Families and
  Children United Way The Childrens Trust The
  Childrens Forum Ounce of Prevention Whole
  Child Project Manatee Kids First/Healthy
  Families and numerous state and local agencies
  and researchers from institutions of higher
  education
• It is revealing and reflective.
• It is visionary and realistic.
• It is clear and comprehensive.
• It is recent.
• It is Florida-specific.

23
What is Policy Matters?

• Florida is not alone. Policy Matters has also
  taken place in Ohio, Mississippi, North Carolina,
  Colorado, Utah, and West Virginia.

24
What is Policy Matters?

• POLICY MATTERS THREE PHASES
• I. ANALYTIC The Policy Inventory
• II. SYNTHETIC State Context Survey
• III. CATALYTIC Setting Goals and Priorities

Phase I ANALYTIC Taking Stock
Phase III CATALYTIC Setting Priorities
Phase II SYNTHETICState Context Survey
25
PM Phase I Taking Stock
Phase I ANALYTIC Taking Stock
26
Phase I Overview The Policy Inventory
Phase I Taking Stock

• The inventory is a tool that fosters a very
  careful analysis of current policies impacting
  Floridas young children.
• Taken together, the policies provide a template
  for a comprehensive early childhood system.
• The inventory is based on research and the
  involvement of over 250 nationally recognized
  experts.

27
Phase I Overview The Policy Inventory
Phase I Taking Stock

• Quality ECE Settings
• Professional and Workforce Development
• Informed Families, Informed Public
• Governance and Coordination
• Accountability and Results Orientation
• Adequate ECE Financing
• Education in the Early Grades
• Health, Mental Health, Oral Health

28
Phase I Overview The Policy Inventory
Phase I Taking Stock

• Within each of the eight domains, there are a set
  of policy features that states should consider
  having in place if they want to advance
  childrens early learning and development.
• For each policy feature, the national experts
  identified the current policy level among
  mutually-exclusive options listed from most to
  least ideal.
• In each state, members of the Policy Matters team
  then assessed where the state ranked on each
  policy feature.

29
Phase I Overview The Policy Inventory
Phase I Taking Stock
30
ExampleScore for Sub-Domain I.B. 46
Phase I Taking Stock
50
33
100
0
31
In Florida
Phase I Taking Stock

• Between July and November, 2006, key
  stakeholders, led by the Policy Matters Steering
  Team, identified policy levels.
• RESULTS ARE CURRENT.
• The analysis was based on hard datapolicies on
  the books. It was not a review of perceptions
  or hopes.
• RESULTS ARE UNBIASED.
• The work was not based on any single initiative,
  program, funding stream, state agency effort, or
  agenda.
• RESULTS ARE COMPREHENSIVE, PROVIDING A SNAPSHOT
  OF FLORIDAS EARLY CHILDHOOD SYSTEM.

32
Domain I Quality ECE Settings
Phase I Taking Stock
33
Domain II Professional and Workforce Development
Phase I Taking Stock
34
Domain III Informed Families and Informed
Public
Phase I Taking Stock
35
Domain IV Accountability and Results Orientation
Phase I Taking Stock
36
Domain V Adequate ECE Financing
Phase I Taking Stock
37
Domain VI Governance and Coordination
Phase I Taking Stock
38
Domain VII Education in the Early Grades
Phase I Taking Stock
39
Domain VIII Health, Oral Health, and
Mental Health
Phase I Taking Stock
40
Florida Policy Inventory

• Based on the results, the Policy Matters Team set
  goal levels for each item.
• Goals indicate where Florida would like to be in
  3 5 years.

41
Domain I Quality ECE Settings
42
Domain II ECE Professional and Workforce
Development
43
Domain III Informed Families, Informed Public
44
Domain IV Accountability and Results Orientation
45
Domain V Adequate ECE Financing
46
Domain VI Governance and Coordination
47
Domain VII Education in the Early Grades
48
Domain VIII Health, Oral Health, and Mental
Health
49
PM Phase II Political Context
Phase II SYNTHETIC State Context Survey
50
Two Data Collection Efforts
Phase II State Context Survey

• Florida Context Analysis
• Demographics
• Institutional powers
• Economic context
• Survey of Florida Stakeholders
• Key stakeholder engagement
• Revenue generation
• Potential policy tools
• Policy strengths

51
The Florida Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• Florida is growing twice as fast as the nation
  overall (11.3 vs. 5.3 between 2000 and 2005).
• Florida has the highest percentage of residents
  age 65 and older (16.6 vs. 12.1 in nation in
  2005).
• Florida has a lower percentage of residents under
  age five than nation overall (6.4 vs. 7.0 in
  2005).

Sources U.S. Census Bureau. (2006). State and
County QuickFacts. Retrieved November 20, 2006
from http//quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/1200
0.html. U. S. Census Bureau. (2005). Florida
American Community Survey. Retrieved November 20,
2006 from http//factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACS
SAFFFacts?
52
The Florida Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• One out of four Florida residents (age 5) speak
  a language other than English at home (25.4 vs.
  19.4 in nation).
• Median household income is below national median
  (42,433 vs. 46,242 in nation).
• Homeownership rates are high (70.1 vs. 66.2 in
  nation).
• Poverty rate is lower than nation overall (12.8
  vs. 13.3).

Sources U.S. Census Bureau. (2006). State and
County QuickFacts. Retrieved November 20, 2006
from http//quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/
12000.html. U. S. Census Bureau. (2005). Florida
American Community Survey. Retrieved November
20, 2006 from http//factfinder.census.gov/servlet
/ACSSAFFFacts?
53
The Florida Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• Institutional power of the governorship
• Responsible for the budget, but legislature has
  unlimited power to change it
• Item veto power (special majority of legislature
  required to override)
• Limited appointment power in major functional
  areas (i.e., Corrections, K-12 education, Health,
  Transportation, Public Utilities Regulation,
  Welfare)

Source Beyle, T. (2005). Governors
Institutional Powers. Chapel Hill, NC University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved
November 29, 2006 from http//www.unc.edu/beyle/g
ubnewpwr.html.
54
The Florida Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• Personal power of Governor Charlie Crist
• Elected with a comfortable majority (7 points)
• Steady progression in political career
• Early in term and can run again
• High approval rating (73 approval in March 2007)

Source Beyle, T. (2005). Governors
Institutional Powers. Chapel Hill, NC University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved
November 29, 2006 from http//www.unc.edu/beyle/g
ubnewpwr.html. Quinnipiac University (2007, March
29). Florida Governor Rides Wave of Voter
Approval, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds.
Retrieved 5/14/07 from http//www.quinnipiac.edu/x
1297.xml?Releaseid1038.
55
The Florida Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• Above national average on professionalism of
  legislature (FL 4.0 natl avg 2.8)
• Lawmakers are full-time (spend approximately 80
  or more of their time on the job)
• Professional compensation
• Large staff (approx. 8.9 staff per legislator)
• Eight-year term limit

Source National Conference of State
Legislatures. (2005). Full- and Part-Time
Legislatures. Retrieved November 29,2006 from
http//www.ncsl.org/programs/press/2004/background
er_fullandpart.htm. National Council of State
Legislatures. (2006). The Term Limited States.
Retrieved November 29, 2006 from
http//www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/about/states.h
tm.
56
The Florida Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• The Office
• Commission of Education appointed by the State
  Board of Education
• Governor appoints all 7 voting members of the
  State Board
• Serves at the will of the State Board of Education

Source. Education Commission of the States.
(2006). Models of State Education Governance.
Retrieved May 7, 2007 from http//www.ecs.org/clea
ringhouse/76/72/6772.htm.
57
Summary of Contextual Analysis
Phase II State Context Survey

• Changes in leadership
• Strong and popular new governor 73 approval
• New climate of openness and bi-partisanship, but
  74 of ECE stakeholders desire more
  collaboration
• Advances in governance
• Childrens Services Councils
• Early Learning Coalitions
• Children and Youth Cabinet
• Greater awareness of the importance of early
  childhood and strong advocacy community
• BUT, high demand for tax relief and declining
  revenues

Source Quinnipiac University (2007, March 29).
Florida Governor Rides Wave of Voter Approval,
Quinnipiac University Poll Finds. Retrieved
5/14/07 from http//www.quinnipiac.edu/x1297.xml?R
eleaseid1038.
58
Survey of Key Stakeholders
Phase II State Context Survey

• Florida early childhood stakeholders polled
• Web-based survey
• Wide net cast sent to 426 email addresses
• Responses collected over two weeks
• 15 response rate (n64)

59
Survey Respondents
Phase II State Context Survey
N77, some respondents had more than one role
Other includes researcher, foundation, public
policy, and other
60
Survey Results Leadership
Phase II State Context Survey

• Champions within government
• Key legislators
• Agency officials
• Champions outside of government
• Dave Lawrence
• Florida Childrens Campaign
• Childrens Services Councils
• Opponents
• Private providers associations
• Legislators
• Uncertainty over who are the champions and
  opponents

61
Survey Results Stakeholder Involvement
Phase II State Context Survey
62
Survey Results Collaboration
Phase II State Context Survey

• 32 thought formal collaboration happens somewhat
  or very frequently.
• 45 thought informal collaboration happens
  somewhat or very frequently.
• 74 want much more collaboration.

63
Survey Results Making Systemic
Change
Phase II State Context Survey

• Most important facilitators
• Leadership from Governor
• Common core values
• Consolidated regulations and funding streams
• Leadership from agency directors
• Paid staff positions that coordinate
  collaborative efforts
• Most important barriers
• Funding
• Competing priorities

64
Survey Results Potential Funding
Sources
Phase II State Context Survey

• High potential
• Investment from the business sector
• Medium potential
• Advocacy for increased federal funding
• Allocation of existing public general revenue
• Alternative revenue sources
• Low potential
• Generation of new public revenue
• Need advocacy voices and elected officials who
  support early childhood

65
Analysis of Floridas Political and
Policy Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• New windows of opportunity to address the need
  for formal collaboration and establish common
  priorities, short- and long-term planning, and
  better system-wide data.
• Gubernatorial leadership and culture
• One of the strongest governorships in the country
• Children and Youth Cabinet
• Staffing and efficacy also rely on Governors
  Executive Office

66
Analysis of Floridas Political and
Policy Context
Phase II State Context Survey

• Pressure for tax relief is high while state
  revenues may be declining.
• Policy Inventory points to both big ticket
  (e.g., facilities, compensation) and small
  change possibilities (e.g., family involvement
  in governance).

67
PM Phase III Setting Priorities
Phase III CATALYTIC Setting Priorities
68
PM Phase III Setting Priorities
Phase III Setting Priorities

• The Policy Matters Steering Committee then
• Considered the strengths and challenges of
  current policy and the current political context
• Brainstormed desired policy changes according to
  the results of the policy audit
• Considered who had the power to realize these
  changes and what kinds of potential policy
  mechanisms would be most successful
• Scored the feasibility of the changes and
• Selected key priorities.

69
PM Phase III Setting Priorities
Phase III Setting Priorities
70
PM Phase III Setting Priorities
Phase III Setting Priorities

• Of the top six items, three were in the
  Governance domain
• ECE Planning
• Alignment with other Systems
• Governance Entities
• Two were in ECE Workforce/Professional
  Development
• Adequate Compensation
• Training System
• One was in Quality Settings
• Incentives for Quality

71
Section IIINext Steps for Florida
72
One Next Step

• Given the Policy Matters work, one goal was to
• Understand what was meant by governance.
• Learn what other states were doing to govern
  more effectively.
• Engage in a discussion with the new Cabinet
  around governance.

73
The Meaning of Governance Structural Elements
Administrative Integration
74
The Meaning of Governance Structural Elements

• Administrative integration the degree to which a
  single administrative agency is responsible for
  early care and education
• Stand-alone administrative integration, or,
• the entirely new state agency approach
• Blended administrative integration
• Subsumed administrative integration, or, the new
  unit approach

75
The Meaning of Governance Structural Elements

• Decentralization the mechanism whereby states
  empower local communities or regions to initiate,
  implement, and monitor efforts that integrate
  care and education.
• Differs from collaboration and partnerships in
  that the control moves downward from the state.

76
The Meaning of Governance Structural Elements

• Privatization allows the state to transfer
  provision, financial, and/or regulatory
  responsibility to actors outside the public
  sector
• Includes both non-profit and for-profit
  organizations

Source Neuman, M. J. (2007). Governance of early
care and education Politics and policy in France
and Sweden. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Columbia University.
77
Contemporary Governance Models

• Administrative integration
• Massachusetts Department and Board of Early
  Education and Care
• Georgia Bright from the Start Dept. of Early
  Care and Learning
• Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and
  Early Learning
• Maryland Division of Early Childhood Development
• Decentralization
• Colorado Local Early Childhood Councils
• Privatization
• Washington Early Learning Council

78
We Have Asked Ourselves the Hard Questions

• How much change can the state tolerate?
• Where should we begin?
• Who should do this work?
• How do we best organize our collective efforts?

79
New Hard Questions

• Are we on the right track?
• What about the other Policy Matters priority
  areas?
• Quality Rating and Improvement Systems
• Incentivization
• Enhanced Workforce Quality and Compensation?
• What about other elements of the early childhood
  system?

80
The Early Childhood System
81
The Early Childhood System
82
The Early Childhood System
83
The Early Childhood System
84
The Early Childhood System
85
The Early Childhood System
86
The Early Childhood System
87
The Early Childhood System
88
The Early Childhood System
89
The Early Childhood System
90
Policy Matters and the Early Childhood System
The Policy Group for Floridas Families and
Children
91
Questions for Consideration

• Can we develop a strategic plan that really
  deeply addresses all of the four components?
• Where would we begin?
• What have we learned from Policy Matters that
  might be useful to such an effort?
• How do you prioritize the next steps for Florida?