Monthly Insights from Iowa's Integrated Data System for Decision Making

June 2023

What we have been up to:

On June 8th, I2D2 facilitated the bimonthly Data Stewardship Committee meeting. I2D2 presented updates to the IA Data Drive which include the ability to generate local area reports to track trends, compare data, and more with just a few easy clicks.

I2D2's Director Heather Rouse was a panel speaker at Harvard Strategic Data Project meeting with other Integrated Data System leaders from Chicago, Baltimore, and Boston. The panel speakers from their session “Promoting Innovative Early Childhood Data Systems” discussed how data systems integrate a variety of data sources to inform research and practice in early care and education.

I2D2 released a new brief “Iowa Head Start: Successfully Serving the Comprehensive Needs of Low-Income Children”. The federally-funded Head Start program promotes school readiness and offers comprehensive services for low-income children under 5. Findings demonstrate that Iowa Head Start children had equivalent academic, socio-emotional, and physical outcomes as children in other preschool programs.

Iowa child care centers cite staff recruitment/retention, facility challenges, and difficulty maintaining low child to staff ratios as challenges they are facing to provide high quality care. Learn more about challenges to the Iowa Child Care system here.

In Iowa, Head Start is the most diverse preschool program: 37% of children are nonwhite compared to 16-17% of children in other or no preschool programs. Discover more findings on Iowa's Head Start program with our new Iowa Head Start brief.

A Data-Driven Approach to Improve Preschool System Equity - Fragmented early childhood education has made it challenging for policy-makers to target expanding access and improving the quality of early learning experiences. This ChildTrends blog introduced the STEP Forward plan with integrated data framework goals to better address the accessibility, quality, and impact of preschool, especially for children and families who experience systemic and historical barriers to accessing high-quality preschool programs.

Serv and Return: State Early Childhood Data Dashboards - Nationwide, integrated data dashboards for early childhood are used to guide policy decisions, identify interventions, and measure outcomes. Learn how dashboard tools are used across the nation to improve childcare systems in this article.

I2D2 Director Heather Rouse will attend the Child Care and Early Education Policy Research Consortium 2023 (CCEEPRC 2023). The CCEEPRC was created by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families to increase national capacity for child care research and the yearly consortium congregates to learn about emerging trends, findings, and how child care can be improved in policy and practice. Learn about past meetings for the CCEEPRC at their history document library.

In partnership with Iowa AEYC, I2D2 will soon release a new report on Iowa's Childcare Workforce. Governor Kim Reynold's launched a strategic Child Care Task Force to identify potential solutions for Iowa's child care challenge. The new study builds off a 2016 report with a recent analysis of current needs and challenges identified by providers in child care to further help stakeholders and policy makers understand the changing landscape of child care. Stay tuned for the upcoming report!

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