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Fall Newsletter 2023

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What we have been up to:


The2023 Iowa Child Care Workforce study identified several challenges the workforce faces. To build a more sustainable workforce, a statewide advisory committee developed five key recommendations informed by recent statewide research. These recommendations aim to improve the quality of child care in Iowa and provide better support to child care providers. To learn more, view the newly released Iowa Workforce Study 2023 Recommendation Brief.


The I2D2 team is happy to announce that the Cost to Provide Care Survey collection has begun. The purpose of the survey is to inform partners at Iowa's Department of Health and Human Services and Iowa Child Care Resource and Referrals (CCR&R) about the costs associated with providing quality care to Iowa's young children. Using data from this survey and existing administrative data, the I2D2 team generate estimates of cost to help inform federal requirements. If you are a provider interested in completing the survey please email ecipartners@iastate.edu.


A solution to helping families find child care is underway thanks to Iowa HHS and ECI,CCR&R, and other project stakeholders. A monthly data collection form launched in August and will continue each month to give child care providers the ability to report their current openings. Data on current openings will be used to inform families searching for child care of current availability and also allows state partners to understand the current state of child care supply and demand. Providers across Iowa are invited to learn more about this up and coming system in webinars hosted 1pm Tuesday, October 24th or 6:30pm on Tuesday, October 24th.

Child care faces significant challenges in the state of Iowa. The 2023 Iowa Child Care Workforce study uncovered that higher workforce wages are the first necessary steps to recruit and retain staff, but we cannot stop there. The Recommendation Brief provides five key actions to provide a framework for how Iowa can support a more sustainable child care workforce.

In our recent Head Start Brief, we found that Iowa Head Start programs serve more preschool age children with diverse characteristics and needs related to low-income status than other programs across the state. The comprehensive services at Head Start programs give children equivalent developmental achievement scores across a range of academic, socio-emotional, and physical outcomes.

Four Questions to Guide Decision-Making for Data Sharing and Integration - The University of Pennsylvania has developed a Four Question Framework to guide partners in determining the ethical and legal implications of building an Integrated Data System IDS and data projects. This framework, published in the International Journal of Population Data Science, emphasizes the importance of collaboration and iterative processes to ensure that all partners are actively involved in the decision-making process. The Four Question Framework is a valuable tool for any organization that seeks to build a successful and ethical data governance framework.


Family Child Care in Crisis: Providers Discuss What Comes after Pandemic Funding Ends - In late September, federal funding to child care providers was set to expire. In this blog, hear what the impacts of lost federal funding means for child care providers, and how long-term solutions -- beyond even pandemic funds -- are necessary to fix the child care crisis.

 

Toward a Vision for a New Data Infrastructure for Federal Statistics and Social and Economic Research in the 21st Century - Data infrastructure provides improved decision-making and more informed public policy to improve the economy, society, and lives. Costly surveys and nationwide data collection efforts are increasingly less useful and efficient ways to understand our needs. Read this national vision for how existing and improved data sources can be used to provide new frontiers in evidence-based decision-making.






I2d2 continues to expand our work in family support and early intervention programming for young children across Iowa. In partnership with Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and Healthy Birth Day Inc., we will participate in discussions about impacts and opportunities related to birthing hospital closures across Iowa at the Maternal Health Symposium on October 30, 2023.

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