The Build Initiative

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The Build Initiative

• Building Early Learning Systems in the States

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Public Policy is stuck in the 19th Century Brain
growth versus public expenditures on children
Cumulative percent of public dollars spent on
children Percent of total brain growth
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The Policy Challenge

• When parents of young children work, their
  children need safe, affordable care that provides
  opportunity for children to learn and develop
• High quality costs more than most parents can
  afford
• Care for infants costs more than for three and
  four-year-olds
• Cognitive dissonance Parents say their
  arrangements are OK

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Public Supports

• Early education tied to school readiness
• Programs that benefit both low-income and
  middle-class families
• Voluntary participation
• Greater support for programs for three and
  four-year-olds

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Public Ambivalence

• Majority of mothers of young children are worker
• Public still believes mothers should be home when
  children are very young

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Need to Reframe the Question

• Given the fact that many children are in the care
  of others for part of their day, how do we make
  it as good as it can be?

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The Build Initiative

• Multi-state partnership
• Goal children who are safe, healthy, eager to
  learn and ready to succeed

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The Challenge

• Programs, policies and services exist but
• They operate in isolation (the silo effect)
• Sometimes operate at cross purposes
• Frequently lack resources to meet critical needs
• Duplication of effort?

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The Build Initiative Mission

• Help each state build a coordinated
• system of programs, policies and
• services that is responsive to the
• needs of families, careful in the use of
• private and public resources, and
• effective in preparing our youngest
• children (birth to five) for a successful future.

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Role of The Build Initiative

• A catalyst for change
• A source of ideas and funds
• A pathway to a deeper national understanding of
  early learning issues

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Who Funds The Build Initiative?

• The Early Childhood Funders Collaborative (ECFC)
• Consortium of national and local foundations
  established in 1995
• Provides networking, info sharing, and strategic
  grantmaking opportunities to its members

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Build Initiative Hallmarks

• Public/private partnership
• Include state agency officials, business and
  community leaders, parents, advocates and others
  who work with children
• Funding for planning, convening, system analysis

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State Grantees

• Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio,
  Pennsylvania

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Funds are used to

• support states efforts to
• Reform existing state systems
• Test new models
• Connect programs and services
• Help ensure that all young children have access
  to early learning systems

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Examples of work underway

• Building broad-based coalitions
• Gathering and analyzing data
• Designing a public engagement campaign
• Implementing cross-program professional
  development
• Strengthening linkages between state and local
  service delivery systems

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Build Learning Community

• Expanded Learning Community in May 2003
• RFP sent to key contacts in all states
• Selected 4 learning partner states
• Hawaii
• Michigan
• Oklahoma
• Washington

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Builds Communications Plan

• Designed to increase the visibility of the need
  for early learning systems
• Highlights work in the selected states
• Build websitewww.BuildInitiative.org

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Build Evaluation

• Child and Family Policy Center in Iowa is the
  evaluation firm
• Each Build grantee also has a state evaluation
  partner

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Build Evaluation

• Assists states and funders in learning more
  about
• Successful state level strategies
• Measuring the results of systems-building efforts
• Role of private funders as catalysts for change

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Lessons Learned

• A modest invest in planning goes a long way
• Public will building and mobilization a high
  priority in all states
• All states have defined early learning to include
  health, human services, and early care and
  education

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The Build Initiative

• www.BuildInitiative.org
• BGebhard_at_BuildInitiative.org