Reports & Analyses
- Feb 04, 2010 | Teresa Lim Early Childhood Education Update: February 2010 CLASP's Early Childhood Education Update is a monthly roundup of news, legislative developments, research, and other developments of interest to the early care and education community. This update is part of CLASP's project, funded by The Joyce Foundation, to provide technical assistance to early childhood policymakers and advocates in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Read Online
- Jan 25, 2010 | CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2010 Read Online | Download PDF
- Jan 21, 2010 | Hannah Matthews and Danielle Ewen FAQ: Using Title I of ESEA for Early Education This paper provides answers to frequently asked questions on using Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds on early education. Read Online | Download PDF
- Jan 15, 2010 | Teresa Lim Early Childhood Education Update - January 2010 CLASP's Early Childhood Education Update is a monthly roundup of news, legislative developments, research, and other developments of interest to the early care and education community. This update is part of CLASP's project, funded by The Joyce Foundation, to provide technical assistance to early childhood policymakers and advocates in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Read Online
- Jan 08, 2010 | Dorothy Smith Poverty and Opportunity - State Poverty Task Force Recommendations Around the nation, a growing number of state governments have established task forces or commissions to develop new strategies and recommendations for tackling poverty and providing opportunity. Download PDF
- Jan 06, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Goals for TANF Reauthorization This Policy Brief argues that poverty alleviation and prevention of material hardship and creation of effective pathways to economic opportunity should be the goals of TANF reauthorization and recommends program changes that would more effectively promote these goals. Download PDF
- Dec 22, 2009 | Teresa Lim and Rachel Schumacher State CCDBG Plans to Promote Opportunities for Babies & Toddlers in Child Care (Full Report) CLASP's Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project highlights state policies that support the healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers in child care settings. The foundation of the project is a policy framework comprised of four key principles describing what babies and toddlers in child care need and 15 recommendations for states to move forward. This report analyzes state Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) plans for FFY 2008-2009 through the lens of this policy framework and highlights state policies to improve infant/toddler child care. Download PDF
- Dec 22, 2009 | Teresa Lim and Rachel Schumacher State CCDBG Plans to Promote Opportunities for Babies & Toddlers in Child Care (Policy Brief) CLASP's Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project highlights state policies that support the healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers in child care settings. The foundation of the project is a policy framework comprised of four key principles describing what babies and toddlers in child care need and 15 recommendations for states to move forward. This policy brief summarizes key findings from an analysis of state Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) plans for FFY 2008-2009 through the lens of the policy framework and highlights state policy approaches. Download PDF
- Dec 10, 2009 | Teresa Lim Early Childhood Education Update - December 2009 CLASP's Early Childhood Education Update is a monthly roundup of news, legislative developments, research, and other developments of interest to the early care and education community. This update is part of CLASP's project, funded by The Joyce Foundation, to provide technical assistance to early childhood policymakers and advocates in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Read Online
- Dec 09, 2009 | Elizabeth Hoffmann and Tiffany Conway Perrin Extending Home Visiting to Kinship Caregivers and FFN Caregivers This paper explores how home visiting programs are serving children in kinship care and in family, friend, and neighbor care, based on CLASP's interviews with major national models of home visiting and other stakeholders. It also presents detailed considerations for implementing home visiting with these caregivers, including matters of curricula, staffing, and service referral, and discusses opportunities that result from serving these caregivers. It concludes with recommendations for states and the federal government. Download PDF
- Nov 17, 2009 | Rachel Schumacher Establish Core Competencies Learning to recognize the cues of very young children before they can talk is one of many important skills for child care providers and caregivers. All babies and toddlers in child care need nurturing, responsive providers and caregivers they can trust to care for them as they grow and learn. To support this goal, CLASP recommends that states establish a core body of knowledge, skills, and expertise that providers and caregivers need in order to give babies and toddlers quality care, based on current research on social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. This document presents research supporting the recommendation to establish core competencies. Read Online | Download PDF
- Nov 17, 2009 | Rachel Schumacher Provide Access to Training, Education, and Ongoing Supports Early experiences and relationships – including those in child care settings—help shape the architecture of the brain. All babies and toddlers in child care need nurturing, responsive providers and caregivers they can trust to care for them as they grow and learn. To support this goal, CLASP recommends that states seek to ensure access to specialized professional development for providers working with infants and toddlers, including participation in higher education programs, community-level training, ongoing individualized consultations, and access to appropriate information and supports for caregivers, so that all those who care for infants and toddlers in all settings understand and implement a core body of knowledge and skills. This document presents research supporting the recommendation to provide access to training, education, and ongoing supports. Read Online | Download PDF
- Nov 16, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch The TANF Emergency Fund: A New Resource for Domestic Violence Programs The TANF Emergency Fund can both provide victims of domestic violence with financial and in-kind services to help address domestic violence issues and also relieve some of the funding pressures on providers. Download PDF
- Nov 09, 2009 | Teresa Lim Early Childhood Education Update - November 2009 CLASP's Early Childhood Education Update is a monthly roundup of news, legislative developments, research, and other developments of interest to the early care and education community. This update is part of CLASP's project, funded by The Joyce Foundation, to provide technical assistance to early childhood policymakers and advocates in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Read Online
- Nov 03, 2009 | Dorothy Smith Measure by Measure: The Current Poverty Measure v. the National Academy of Sciences Measure This report highlights alternative poverty measures for each state and the District of Columbia using a Census tool that calculates alternative measures based on a National Academy of Sciences recommendation and an NAS recommendation that considers geographic price difference adjustment. Download PDF
- Nov 02, 2009 | Rachel Schumacher A Tool to Examine State Child Care Subsidy Policies and Promote Stable, Quality Care for Low-Income Babies and Toddlers This tool, part of CLASP's Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project, is designed to provide a policy framework that lays out child care subsidy policies that can be implemented to better support babies and toddlers and their families. Users can download and save a copy of this tool, then fill in the appropriate columns with their state's current policies and opportunities for change. Read Online | Download File
- Nov 02, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Questions and Answers about the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund This document explains the opportunities for states to help low-income families using the new TANF Emergency Contingency Fund created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This version is updated to reflect the questions and answers posted by HHS in October 2009 Download PDF
- Oct 01, 2009 | Teresa Lim Early Childhood Education Update - October 2009 CLASP's Early Childhood Education Update is a monthly roundup of news, legislative developments, research, and other developments of interest to the early care and education community. This update is part of CLASP's project, funded by The Joyce Foundation, to provide technical assistance to early childhood policymakers and advocates in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Read Online
- Sep 21, 2009 | Hannah Matthews Child Care Assistance in 2007: Spending Update This analysis details state child care expenditures from the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant programs. We find that spending on child care assistance increased slightly in 2007. Thirty-one states increased overall child care spending, while 20 states made cuts. The number of children receiving assistance, however, remains far lower than the number of children eligible for assistance. Download PDF
- Sep 18, 2009 | Ronnie Kauder and Neil Ridley Earning and Learning: Options under the Workforce Investment Act Adults with limited work experience, low education and skill levels and other barriers to employment face the greatest challenges, especially at a time of rising unemployment. Strategies that combine work and learning are critical to help these individuals to enter or regain employment. This paper focuses on two program strategies that combine work and learning: on-the-job training and paid work experience combined with skill development. Download PDF