Improving Virginia’s Early Childhood Development Programs

Commonwealth of Virginia House Document 5 (2018)

December 11, 2017

Report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia

Improving Virginia's Early Childhood Development Programs

2017

JOINT LEGISLATIVE AUDIT AND REVIEW COMMISSION

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission Chair

Delegate Robert D. Orrock, Sr.

Vice-Chair

Senator Thomas K. Norment, Jr. Delegate Terry Austin Delegate Betsy Carr Delegate M. Kirkland Cox Senator Emmett W. Hanger, Jr. Senator Janet D. Howell Delegate S. Chris Jones Delegate R. Steven Landes Delegate James P. Massie III Senator Ryan T. McDougle Delegate John M. O'Bannon III Delegate Kenneth Plum Senator Frank M. Ruff, Jr. Martha S. Mavredes, Auditor of Public Accounts, ex officio

Director

Hal E. Greer

JLARC staff for this report

Justin Brown, Associate Director Drew Dickinson, Project Leader Lauren Axselle Sarah Berday-Sacks Maria Garnett Ellie Rigsby Information graphics: Nathan Skreslet

JLARC Report 502

?2017 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission

Contents

Summary

i

Recommendations and Options

v

Chapters

1. Early Childhood Development Programs

1

2. Kindergarten Readiness and Risk Factors

11

3. Voluntary Home Visiting Programs

19

4. Virginia Preschool Initiative

31

5. Child Care Subsidy Program

43

6. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Programs

53

7. Improving Virginia's Early Childhood Development Programs

65

Appendixes

A: Study mandate

73

B: Research activities and methods

75

C: Bibliography

85

D: Program inventory

89

E: Core components of effective early childhood

92

development programs

F: Voluntary home visiting programs ? additional information

100

G: Improvements to Virginia's Quality Rating and

103

Improvement System

H: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act programs ?

106

additional information

I: Agency responses

120

Summary: Improving Virginia's Early Childhood Development Programs

WHAT WE FOUND

One-third of all Virginia kindergartners may not be fully ready for school

Although many of Virginia's young children do not need state-supported early childhood development programs, data indicates that about one-third start school lacking the social, self-regulation, literacy, or math skills needed for kindergarten. Certain factors, such as poverty, low birth weight, and maternal substance abuse, place a child's healthy development at risk and can strongly influence whether a child is ready for school.

The state's information about readiness and children at risk of poor developmental outcomes is not sufficient

WHY WE DID THIS STUDY In 2016 the General Assembly directed JLARC to identify

for identifying children and families at risk and assisting them through the state's early childhood development programs.

and review state-supported early childhood development programs to determine the best strategy for future early childhood investments.

ABOUT EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Virginia's voluntary home visiting programs are generally effective

The brain develops most rapidly during the earliest years of a child's life. The development (or "wiring") that occurs as a result of early experiences, whether positive or neg-

Virginia's seven voluntary home visiting programs demonstrate effective performance, are generally well

ative, sets the foundation for future success. High-quality early childhood development programs improve children's odds of success in school and life. However,

designed, and have strong quality assurance mechanisms to ensure they are implemented as intended. Participants often have better outcomes than those who do not participate, both nationwide and in Virginia. For ex-

careful attention is needed to whether programs are well designed, implemented as designed, and perform effectively. Virginia has 13 "core" early childhood development programs, which include seven voluntary home visiting programs, the Virginia Preschool Initiative, the

ample, participants in Virginia's home visiting programs for pregnant women are more likely than nonpartici-

Child Care Subsidy Program, and two Individuals with Disabilities Education Act programs.

pants to carry their pregnancies to full term, which is

associated with positive developmental outcomes. Virginia's voluntary home visiting

programs also feature the key components that experts generally agree are necessary

to be effective.

However, these programs lack adequate administrative infrastructure to ensure effective coordination, evaluation, and planning across programs. The funding for voluntary home visiting programs in Virginia is unstable and difficult to predict each year, and this instability hinders the ability of the programs to operate consistently and strategically over time.

i

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