High-quality child care and early education can build a strong foundation for young children's healthy development and ensure that children have all they need to thrive. This knowledge drives CLASP's work to promote policies that support both child development and the needs of low-income working parents. We support policies that expand resources for child care and early education initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels. We also study the relationships between child care subsidy systems, Head Start and Early Head Start, state pre-kindergarten programs, and other birth to five early education efforts, to advance ideas that ensure these systems address the full range of needs of children and families.
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States Strengthen Work Support Strategies in First Year of Initiative
In the midst of tighter budgets and cuts in benefits spending, some states are focusing on more effective administration of public benefits that support working families. They're doing so because they know that these benefits, which include programs focused on nutrition, health care and child care, help families become and stay employed and promote children's success in school and life. By streamlining eligibility processes and cutting red tape for these programs, states can reduce administrative costs and make it less daunting for working families to get the help they need.
For example, states involved in the Work Support Strategies (WSS) project are making administrative and programmatic decisions that help families more easily acquire benefits for which they're eligible. Reports on the initial planning year of the project (2010-2011), released by the Urban Institute today, indicate that participating states have made progress in simplifying application processes, streamlining eligibility policies, and coordinating the administration of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP - formerly Food Stamps), Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and child care assistance.
As a partner in the WSS project, CLASP provides technical assistance to states to strengthen the administration of their child care assistance programs in the context of the broader WSS focus on coordinating across multiple programs. In the first year of the project, WSS states took steps to reduce barriers to families' enrollment in child care assistance programs and to improve continuity of care for children. Read More >>
At Risk: Early Care and Education Funding and Sequestration
Read CLASP's fact sheet that explains sequestration, how these cuts will impact federal early care and education funding, and what can be done to prevent them. READ MORE »- Stephanie Schmit and Jamie Colvard | Sep 13, 2012 Expanding Access to Early Head Start: State Initiatives for Infants and Toddlers at Risk
- Hannah Matthews | Sep 11, 2012 At Risk: Early Care and Education Funding and Sequestration
- Christine Johnson-Staub | Aug 23, 2012 Putting it Together: A Guide to Financing Comprehensive Services in Child Care and Early Education
- Christine Johnson-Staub and Stephanie Schmit | Jun 05, 2012 Home Away From Home: A Toolkit for Planning Home Visiting Partnerships with Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers
- Christine Johnson-Staub | Feb 10, 2012 Promote Access to Early, Regular and Comprehensive Screening
- Child Care and Early Education | Mar 20, 2013 U.S. Head Start by the Numbers 2011
- Child Care and Early Education | Mar 12, 2013 Early Childhood Education Update - March 2013
- Stephanie Schmit | Feb 24, 2013 Comments on Developing Assessments for Kindergarten Entry
- Christine Johnson-Staub and Stephanie Schmit | Feb 19, 2013 Putting it Together: Financing Comprehensive Services in Child Care and Early Education
- Child Care and Early Education | Feb 08, 2013 Early Childhood Education Update - February 2013








