In Iowa, for every 5 preschoolers enrolled in child care or education programs, there are 2 more on the waitlist. Learn more from the Themes in Iowa's Child Care Conversation data brief HERE

The burden of the child care shortage on Iowans is high, especially when you consider long-term effects. Over the first 13 years of a child's life, the child care shortage costs Iowa working parents approximately $643.7 MILLION dollars.

See the full brief HERE

Integrated Early Childhood Data is an Essential Tool for Advancing Racial and Ethnic Equity - This article from the Early Childhood Data Collaborative at Child Trends describes the role of early childhood integrated data systems in policy making and provides detailed recommendations for policy makers to ensure racial and ethnic equity in policy decisions.

Data Linking Toolkit - This data linking toolkit is provided by The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems. This toolkit focuses on supporting Part C and Part B 619 programs in data linking projects. 

"We Live One Day at a Time": Families' Stories from the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic. - This brief details the challenges that families with younger children faced during the beginning months of the pandemic and how it affected caregiving and support of their children's learning. This report supports and expands on recent I2D2 work including the most recent family survey released yesterday and previous work by Director Rouse on creating a framework to study the impact of COVID-19 on young children.