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Policy

Policy Work

The Center for Early Learning engages in evaluation work at the local, state, and national levels to inform policy efforts in the early childhood field.

  • We build collaborations with advocates, philanthropists, policymakers, and practitioners across Indiana who are leading efforts in their local communities to develop solutions for expanding access to high-quality early learning opportunities.
  • We conduct rigorous research in partnership with the State to identify gaps and strengths of the Birth-5 early learning system, evaluate prekindergarten program effectiveness, identify key components of quality and curriculum, and support workforce development.

Indiana’s Preschool Development Grant Birth to Age 5 Needs Assessment

In 2018, Drs. Sara Schmitt, Ellen Litkowski, Robert Duncan, Jim Elicker, Megan Purcell, and David Purpura conducted a needs assessment on Indiana’s Birth to Age Five Mixed Delivery System. This assessment was funded as part of the state’s Preschool Development Grant and was used to inform strategic planning and goals to improve the system. The needs assessment can be found here: https://d190qg16zubs76.cloudfront.net/pdg-reports/Brith-to-Age-Five-Mixed-Delivery-System-Needs-Assessment.pdf

Drs. Jennifer Finders, Sara Schmitt, Ellen Litkowski, Robert Duncan, Megan Purcell, and David Purpura are currently conducting a refresh of the original needs assessment that will highlight changes in access, availability, and affordability of early care and education since 2018, demonstrate progress on the complementary strategic plan goals, and offer a new focus on the early childhood education workforce. This is the first of several updated needs assessments that will be developed by the CEL team over the next three years.

Identifying Key Ingredients of High-Quality Preschool Programs in Indiana

Drs. Jennifer Finders, Robert Duncan, Sarah Eason, David Purpura, and Sara Schmitt are currently conducting a study to investigate the key ingredients of quality that are observable in Indiana preschool programs and highlight opportunities to target those that are most effective for improving children’s learning and development through programs and policies. This project is funded by the Family and Social Services Administration, Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Learning.

Assessing Evidence-Based Curricular Use in a Broad Spectrum of Early Care and Education Programs

Drs. Jennifer Finders, Robert Duncan, Sarah Eason, David Purpura, and Sara Schmitt are currently conducting a study to understand the landscape of curricula being implemented in Indiana’s early childhood education programs to make recommendations for supporting and incentivizing curricular uptake, and specifically, the use of evidence-based practices. This project is funded by the Family and Social Services Administration, Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Learning.

Enhancing Cost Estimates of Rural Child Care in Indiana

Drs. Jennifer Finders and Sara Schmitt, in partnership with Tanya Hall at Purdue Extension Community Development, are currently conducting a study to examine the costs of operating a rural child care center in Indiana with funding from the North Central Region Center for Rural Development. The primary aim of this project is to enhance a cost estimation tool to better capture the actual costs of providing high-quality early learning in rural Indiana with and inform child care development fund reimbursement rate setting.

Evaluation of On My Way Prekindergarten (OMW Pre-K)

Drs. Sara Schmitt, David Purpura, Robert Duncan, and Jim Elicker are currently conducting a longitudinal evaluation of the OMW Pre-K program for the state of Indiana. The goal of the OMW program is to increase access to high quality preschool experiences for children from families with low incomes, and in turn, promote school readiness and academic achievement. Reports summarizing results of the evaluation can be found here: https://www.in.gov/fssa/carefinder/files/OWMPK-Purdue-Evaluation-Report.pdf; and a final reports introduction written by Dr. Jennifer Finders can be found here: https://www.in.gov/fssa/carefinder/files/OMWPK-2-Study-Summary-Report-0122.pdf

Indiana’s Birth to Age Five Mixed Delivery System Needs Assessment

Drs. Sara Schmitt, Ellen Litkowski, Robert Duncan, Jim Elicker, Megan Purcell, and David Purpura conducted a needs assessment on Indiana’s Birth to Age Five Mixed Delivery System. This assessment was funded as part of the state’s Preschool Development Grant and was used to inform strategic planning and goals to improve the system. The needs assessment can be found here: https://d190qg16zubs76.cloudfront.net/pdg-reports/Brith-to-Age-Five-Mixed-Delivery-System-Needs-Assessment.pdf

Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Professional Preparation Standards Task Force

Dr. Megan Purcell served (2018-2020) on the national taskforce to develop the first ever Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Professional Preparation (EI/ECSE) Standards. These EI/ECSE Standards will be the basis of national recognition through the Specialized Professional Association of the Council for Exceptional Children – Division for Early Childhood for all undergraduate early childhood special education teacher education programs that are accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). More information on these standards can be found here: https://exceptionalchildren.org/standards/initial-practice-based-standards-early-interventionists-early-childhood-special-educators