Early care and education partnerships: State actions and local lessons

Today, more than 13 million children in the United States under age six—including children whose mothers do not work outside the home—are cared for daily by someone other than their parents. Despite dramatic funding increases in recent years, low-income parents continue to have difficulty finding accessible, high-quality early care and education that meets their needs and ensures their young children are prepared for school.

To better meet families’ needs, locally-based early care and education providers such as child care, Head Start, and prekindergarten (preK) are joining forces to improve services and reduce fragmentation resulting from multiple, separate, publicly funded early care and education programs. By blending funds and resources, such partnerships are positioned to provide full-day, full-year early care and education that offers continuity of care and comprehensive services. Numerous reports describe early care and education partnerships and policies that support them, yet questions remain about the nature of these partnerships and their relationship to quality and access to services.