GEEARS is a trusted source that brings the most promising innovation and evidence-based practices and research to the state on behalf of Georgia’s youngest children.

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GEEARS Resources

Economics of Early Childhood

  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation examined the pandemic’s impact on child care, including how a lack of child care affects our economy and how employers have adapted to meet the child care needs of their employees.  
  • Workforce of Today, Workforce of Tomorrow from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation explores the ways high-quality child care supports the existing workforce in maintaining stable employment and the future workforce by laying the groundwork for future academic success. The report provides 10 recommendations to the business community to support high-quality child care.
  • Want to Grow the Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis from ReadyNation and the Council for a Strong America examined the economic impacts of the nation’s child care crisis on infants and toddlers, working parents, employers, and taxpayers and found an annual cost of $57 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue. 
  • Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist James Heckman has computed that every dollar invested in high-quality birth-to-five early childhood education for disadvantaged children delivers a 13% annual return on investment, significantly higher than the 7-10% return delivered by preschool alone.
  • Early Childhood Investments Paving the Way for the Future Workforce from Investing in America’s Workforce reviews the impact of early childhood investments on young children and the workforce development pipeline.

Equity in Early Childhood

 

Effectiveness of Early Education

    Access & Availability of Early Education

    • Inequitable Access to Child Care Subsidies from CLASP looks at access to child care scholarships through the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Program finding that only 14.8% of income-eligible children in Georgia receive CAPS.
    • ZERO TO THREE publishes an annual State of Babies Yearbook, which provides a snapshot of how infants, toddlers, and their families are faring with respect to these three developmental domains: good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences.
    • The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) publishes an annual State of Preschool Yearbook, which provides data on state-funded prekindergarten programs around the country.
    • Pay for Success is an emerging strategy for financing early childhood initiatives.
    • Developed by the Reinvestment Fund, Childcare Analysis for Metro Atlanta looks at the supply and demand for child care in metro Atlanta.
    • This fact sheet from the National Head Start Association (MHSA)’s lays out the scope and demand of Early Head Start.
    • Child Care and Early Education Research Connections houses an extensive and frequently updated collection of research on early education. The website provides free access to more than 25,000 resources, including empirical articles, government reports, fact sheets, issue briefs, datasets, and instruments.

    Early Childhood Education Workforce

    Research on Early Care and Learning in Georgia

    • Quality Rated Validation Study

    The Quality Rated Validation Study reviews the effectiveness of Quality Rated on a number of different measures, including program quality, children’s development over the school year, and work climate.

    • Pre-Kindergarten

    In 2011, the Georgia General Assembly authorized an evaluation of Georgia’s Pre-K program. Researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been conducting a series of ongoing studies that measure the impact of the program.

      In addition to the series of ongoing studies, DECAL worked with Child Trends to compare third-grade scores on the Georgia Milestones End-of-Grade (EOG) standardized achievement test for children who had and had not participated in Georgia’s Pre-K.

      • Georgia’s Cross-Agency Child Data System

      Georgia’s Cross Agency Child Data System (CACDS) aligns critical data from programs and services across state agencies for children zero to five and their families, including Babies Can’t Wait, Georgia’s Pre-K, Children’s 1st, and Preschool Special Education.

      • Economic Impact of Early Care and Education in Georgia

      Researchers from the University of Georgia and Georgia State University conducted a study examining the impact of the early care and education industry on Georgia’s economy.

      Maternal-Child Health Resources

      Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Resources

      Toxic Stress & Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Resources

      Family Supports

      Additional Resources

      National Organizations

      • The Alliance for Early Success works to improve state policies for children birth through eight by bringing state, national, and funding partners together.
      • Annie E. Casey Foundation is a national thought leader on education issues, particularly on the importance of reading on grade level by the end of third grade.
      • The Build Initiative supports states around the nation, including Georgia, as they work to set policy, offer services, and advocate for children birth through age five.
      • Child Trends works to improve outcomes for children and youth by conducting high-quality research and sharing results with practitioners and policymakers.
      • Georgetown Center for Children and Families is a national leader on health policies, such as Medicaid, EPSDT, and CHIP, that impact children.
      • Harvard Center on the Developing Child, GEEARS’ partner in our Frontiers of Innovation–Georgia efforts, works to drive science-based innovation that achieves breakthrough outcomes for young children facing adversity.
      • Institute for Child Success is a research and policy organization dedicated to the success of all young children.
      • Mission: Readiness is a nonpartisan organization led by senior retired military leaders who advocate for smart investments in our nation’s young children.
      • National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research.
      • National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) uses research to inform policy and practice with the goal of understanding and addressing poverty for the next generation.
      • National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducts and shares research to support high-quality effective early education for all young children.
      • Ready Nation works to improve business competitiveness by helping children get a good start in life, educating policymakers and the public to advance better policies for children and youth.
      • Start Early advocates for quality early learning for children birth to five and is a leader in developing innovative high-quality programs for young children.
      • ZERO TO THREE works to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life and houses such initiatives as DC: 0-5 and Think Babies.

      Georgia Organizations