CCTAN - The Child Care Technical Assistance Network, a service of the Office of Child Care

This issue brief highlights interviews conducted by BUILD QRIS Learning Network with 29 key informants from 7 states and 9 national entities to explore thinking about Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). There was consensus that building a CQI culture at multiple levels will strengthen outcomes for children and families and build change that lasts.

This issue brief identifies 6 elements of coordinated community system-building efforts including: (1) shared vision; (2) engaged leadership; (3) continuous quality improvement; (4) data management; (5) sustainable resources, and (6) marketing/communications. It includes promising practices from a number of city and state planning efforts. It provides valuable policy recommendations that can advance system-building efforts by incentivizing partnerships, promoting flexibility of resources, and investing in structural supports.

This National Afterschool Association (NAA) brief summarizes the research on the afterschool workforce. It explores the conditions and barriers to building and sustaining a quality afterschool workforce, including pre-service requirements, core knowledge and competencies, provider registries, and credentials/certifications. This brief also summarizes the results of the NAA's 2013 nationwide survey of their membership on the state of the afterschool workforce.  Included are examples from Florida, Illinois and Vermont.

The Stage of Change approach provides a model for those leading change to take into account readiness for change tied to motivation, confidence, and commitment levels of the individuals engaged in change. It is a model for educators, based on practices for health care and mental health. It offers guidance on what support to provide staff, given their stage of readiness for change.

This issue brief provides a summary of evaluations on the impact of after school programs on the children who participate, their parents, and their communities. For ease of use, so system builders and grant writers can easily access information, the evaluation findings of individual studies are summarized both in a narrative report and in a summary chart, divided thematically into academic outcomes and behavioral outcomes.

This brief describes the impact of family homelessness on adolescents with regard to behavior, school attendance, school performance, and school mobility. Families who had spent at least a week in an emergency shelter were interviewed 20 months later. It provides insight on how to support adolescents and families facing homelessness and the importance of school stability.  This resource supports resilience.

Summer learning is a key solution to closing academic and opportunity gaps that affect many communities across the country. When children continue to learn during the summer, they are healthier, safer, and smarter, and their schools and communities are more successful. This brief features research on program quality, funding strategies and information, a program spotlight, and other valuable resources that support reflection and program planning and implementation.

Este documento también está disponible en español.

Brief on the components of a quality school-age program and why quality matters.

This issue brief explores how in-school educators, afterschool providers, families, and policy makers can work together to build social emotional skills youth need to succeed. The brief explores the policy context for social-emotional learning, how it is currently implemented in afterschool and school settings, and suggestions for how the two can partner on this issue.

This brief provides a state-by-state update on budget changes that will impact access to affordable, high quality early care and education. It provides state leaders a quick summary about their own state, as well as a glance about what choices other states are making. Key trends include more flexible subsidy polices (e.g. raising income limits for elibility, reducing co-payments).