Linking Economic Development and Child Care
The Economic Development & Child Care Research Technical Assitance Project
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the Alliance for Early Childhood Finance and Cornell University in New York, and Smart Start’s National Technical Assistance Center in North Carolina are undertaking a project to craft and advance new policy approaches that link child care with economic development.
The purpose of this project is threefold: 1) to promote pioneering public policy that applies economic development strategies to strengthen the early care and education sector; 2) to test those ideas at the local and state level by investing in Venture Grants; and 3) to bring these efforts to scale by building a network of innovative leaders from a variety of fields beyond early care and education, including finance, planning, and community and economic development, who can make early care and education a core part of economic development policy.
The project is being carried out by an interdisciplinary team of four collaborating organizations: the Alliance for Early Childhood Finance, Cornell University, Smart Start’s National Technical Assistance Center (NTAC), and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). These groups bring together leaders in economic and community development and the early care and education field to design innovative economic development policy linked to early care and education. Through a series of small discussion groups and workshops, leaders come together to brainstorm new policy options. The collaborating organizations hope that the project will lead to greater visibility of the economic importance of early care and education, broader utilization of economic development approaches in developing, improving, and expanding early care and education, and greater involvement of a diverse group of professionals in policy discussions on economic development and early care and education.
Venture Grant Program
The Venture Grants provide funding to encourage communities, cities, and states to initiate new policies and programs that link economic development and child care. Special attention is placed on expanding the community of policy leaders for this work beyond traditional early care and education experts, to include planners, economic developers, and others.
2007-2008 Venture Grant Award Winners
2007 Request for Proposals
2006 Venture Grant Award Winners
Links:
Can Tax Strategies Help Promote and Finance Quality Early Care and Education Services? Conference Call Notes from November 13, 2006
Child Care as Economic Development
Cornell University, Department of City and Regional Planning
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Preschool Cost Estimates
IWPR's Preschool Cost Estimate Model. Researchers have designed a model for estimating the cost of implementing universal pre-kindergarten in the states, taking into account a variety of implementation strategies and participation rates. The Institute has also released a "how-to" manual demonstrating how other states can adapt the model to serve their specific policy needs:
The Status of Early Care and Education in the States
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Paid Leave
Nearly half of all workers do not have paid sick days, including more than 22 million women. Even fewer have paid sick days policies allowing them to visit the doctor or stay home to care for sick children. Only one in four low-wage workers is provided with this health benefit. For those without paid sick days, short-term health needs can mean missing work and pay, or even being fired.
IWPR's research shows that paid sick days bring benefits to both employees and employers. Inadequate paid sick days policies lead to the spread of disease to co-workers, reduced productivity, and higher turnover, all of which are costly for employers. For workers, not having paid sick days can result in lost income, worse health outcomes for children, and increased need for health care resources.
To learn more about IWPR's research on paid sick days and how it is informing paid sick days expansion efforts, click here.
The Institute conducts research and provides technical assistance on paid family and medical leave, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Under the direction of Program Director Dr. Vicky Lovell, these activities evaluate the need for and anticipated impacts of paid leave programs.
Key elements of the paid leave project include:
- Development of a cost estimation model that estimates the benefits expenses of public programs for paid leave
- Providing technical assistance to state-level coalitions evaluation paid leave proposals
- Examining the likely benefits that universal paid leave programs would bring to workers, employers, and taxpayers
- Participation in public education and outreach activities and briefings for policymakers
Recent publications and testimony in the paid family and medical leave program include:
Publications:
Testimony:
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