蜜桃影视

This summer, Illinois will launch a state-level department of early childhood, bringing under one roof a host of programs for children, families and educators that have long been dispersed across different state agencies. 

In doing so, it will become the latest in a wave of states that have established standalone departments for early care and education in recent years, joining the ranks of , and .

The shift toward unified governance structures comes at a time when the sector is getting more attention and, in some states, more investment. That, plus an effort to improve families鈥� experiences in accessing public programs for them and their young children, seems to be driving this trend.

Whether a state鈥檚 governance structure can make a meaningful difference in how its system of early childhood education functions, though, is a question worth asking 鈥� and it鈥檚 one many early childhood policy leaders are trying to answer.

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Every state has a unique organizational framework, but historically, programs and services for young children and their families have been housed across several common agencies, such as an education department, a department of health, and a department of welfare and social services.

That was the case in Colorado before it launched its Department of Early Childhood in 2022, explained executive director Lisa Roy, and it made for a disjointed experience. 

鈥淗aving things scattered across different agencies just makes things confusing for families,鈥� Roy said. 

And that is the case in Illinois now, said Teresa Ramos, secretary of the new department that is slated to on July 1. 

鈥淲hat excites me, over time, is building a system that can more seamlessly serve parents and providers,鈥� Ramos said. She wants to lift 鈥渟ome of that burden鈥� off of families and educators who have to keep track of 鈥渨hich 12 people to call鈥� and ultimately simplify their experience of engaging with government services. 

The other consequence of programs being spread across different departments is that it creates a leadership vacuum in early care and education, said Elliot Regenstein, a lawyer who has studied early childhood governance and recently wrote a on the topic.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a complicated ecosystem,鈥� Regenstein said. 鈥淲hen oversight of that ecosystem is splintered across multiple agencies, with none as their primary expertise, it shows.鈥�

Cynthia Osborne, executive director of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University, which , used the pandemic as an example. During that time, a state education secretary鈥檚 focus was likely on reopening K-12 schools, even though their department also oversaw Head Start and pre-K programs, while the health secretary was probably thinking primarily about hospitals and health care, not child care licensing and quality. 

鈥淲hat you had in early childhood was a system entirely run by middle managers,鈥� Regenstein said. 鈥淗alfway up the org chart, they may or may not be empowered to interact with the legislature. Their orientation was to run a grant program, rather than think systemically about how those pieces fit together.鈥�

He added: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not a knock on those people. But when it was literally nobody鈥檚 job to think about the system as a whole, it just made everybody鈥檚 job harder.鈥�

It鈥檚 a complicated ecosystem. When oversight of that ecosystem is splintered across multiple agencies, with none as their primary expertise, it shows.

Elliot Regenstein

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center has identified 13 states that have established standalone departments or offices of early care and education. In those 13 states, there is a senior leader whose entire job is to think about, organize and prioritize issues affecting early childhood. That change is both symbolic and actual 鈥� or it can be, when managed thoughtfully. 

Another dozen or so states 鈥� while not going as far as creating a new department 鈥� have made meaningful changes around early childhood governance and leadership, Regenstein added. 

鈥淭he question I鈥檇 ask,鈥� he said, 鈥渋s has a state taken action to elevate leadership in early childhood and done something to unify oversight? Even if they haven鈥檛 gotten all the way there, I want to give credit for progress.鈥�

Of course, the formation of a new government agency, and the appointment of a senior official to lead it, is not in itself a victory. Only once those pieces are in place does the hard work begin. 

鈥淓arly childhood programs are historically under-resourced. Putting them all together doesn鈥檛 give you some kind of economy of scale 鈥� 鈥榦h, good, we鈥檙e all here and we鈥檙e all under-resourced,鈥� said Elizabeth Groginsky, secretary of New Mexico鈥檚 Early Childhood Education and Care Department, acknowledging the challenge these departments face. 

She added: 鈥淲e鈥檝e focused on building a system of programs and services that are well connected and aligned. We鈥檝e done a really good job. We still have much work to do.鈥�

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One thing all of these states seem to have in common is a governor who is willing to prioritize young children and families and make early childhood education a signature part of their platform. 

Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois, Jared Polis of Colorado and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico all ran campaigns that emphasized early childhood education and later stewarded the creation of a standalone department. That is no coincidence, Osborne of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center said. 

For this organizing structure to be successful, she said, 鈥渋t has to come from the governor.鈥�

Helene Stebbins, executive director of the Alliance for Early Success, made a similar point. 鈥淲hat matters more than any org chart or structure is leadership. Full stop,鈥� said Stebbins. 鈥淲hen you have a strong governor, it is like wind in the sails.鈥�

What matters more than any org chart or structure is leadership. Full stop. When you have a strong governor, it is like wind in the sails.

Helene Stebbins, Alliance for Early Success

That significance doesn鈥檛 evaporate once the department has launched. These governors appoint cabinet-level officials, such as Roy in Colorado and Groginsky in New Mexico, to lead the new agency and work alongside them as they make decisions that are relevant to early care and education providers, children and families. 

In practice, these states end up with a dedicated early childhood advocate attending cabinet meetings with the governor and other department heads.   

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just symbolic. It鈥檚 really important,鈥� said Osborne. 鈥淭he secretary of early childhood is sitting side-by-side with the secretaries of 鈥� education and health. They can make decisions at that level, think about how to work together and leverage resources, in real-time.鈥� 

That鈥檚 an enormous improvement over the 鈥渕iddle manager鈥� dynamic that Regenstein described.

鈥淚t is much more likely that you鈥檙e going to be able to get the resources that you need,鈥� Osborne added. 

In Colorado, that has had a real impact, Polis shared. 

鈥淚t certainly elevated the discussion about early childhood education in our state,鈥� Polis said. 鈥淒r. Roy attends every cabinet meeting. We talk about early childhood education every week. Before, no one owned it in the state.鈥�

That access has given Roy opportunities to communicate directly with the governor about nuances in the field and to get a broader perspective of his competing priorities, she said. 

鈥淭he governor is a partner with me in thinking through these things,鈥� Roy said, adding that 鈥渉aving that access and having his ear has been so important.鈥�  

That kind of centralized leadership and governor鈥檚 support have been essential in enabling New Mexico to make groundbreaking progress on early care and education in the last several years, according to Groginsky. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 no way this kind of rapid, system-building growth could鈥檝e happened with three different agencies, middle-level managers and staff working cross-departmental,鈥� she said, referring to the recent transformation of early childhood education in the state, including the launch of the first statewide universal free child care initiative in the U.S. 

It is much more efficient and effective, she added, to channel all that time, energy and resources 鈥渋n one direction, under one leader.鈥� 

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This recent burst of activity in the development of early childhood education departments has precedent. In the early 2000s, a trio of states 鈥� Georgia, Massachusetts and Washington 鈥� each created a new agency to focus on early childhood. 

Georgia鈥檚 Department of Early Care and Learning, , is considered to have been the first state-level early childhood education department, said Amy M. Jacobs, the agency鈥檚 commissioner since 2014. She said her office has received numerous requests and questions from leaders in other states who are now trying to stand up a similar governance structure (which she describes as a 鈥渙ne-stop shop鈥� for families). 

To those leaders, she typically tries to impart a few key lessons. 

One, she said, is to take their time. It鈥檚 OK to go slowly, especially if it means getting it right. Georgia鈥檚 department underwent many iterations before the final pieces were in place in 2017 鈥� a full 13 years after it launched. 

Another, Jacobs said, is to create a system that makes sense in the context of their state. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no 鈥榬ight鈥� way to create your agency. There are no 鈥榬ight鈥� set of programs,鈥� she explained. 鈥淓very state is going to have their own pathway.鈥�

In practice, that means that New Mexico鈥檚 department may have more programs and services under its umbrella than Colorado鈥檚, and that shouldn鈥檛 be a critique of either agency. 

Finally, Jacobs said, it鈥檚 important to understand that anyone involved in this work may need patience if they want to see ideas about the field of early care and education meaningfully change. 

鈥淐ulture change will take longer than you ever think it will,鈥� Jacobs said, noting that after more than two decades, she believes that the perception of early childhood educators as 鈥渂abysitters鈥� has changed and that the field is now highly valued by Georgia state leaders and policymakers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long process. 鈥� It just takes a lot of time to change that mindset.鈥�

The formation of these departments is in itself momentous, many policy experts said, because it signals that early childhood is an issue that鈥檚 so important it deserves 鈥� literally 鈥� a seat at the governor鈥檚 table. But their existence does not guarantee their long-term success. 

Many of these agencies are still very new, having been ushered in by the sitting governor. One of the major tests is whether they can withstand leadership change 鈥� a new governor, perhaps from an opposing party, who maybe isn鈥檛 as keen on putting early care and education toward the top of their platform, said Regenstein. Some states, like Georgia and Massachusetts, have survived that type of leadership transition. 

鈥淲e still cannot answer the question to states, 鈥業s this something we should do?鈥欌�� said Osborne. 鈥淏ut we think there are models of these new departments that really can make it so you鈥檙e prioritizing early childhood, so you can use funds more efficiently, and decisions can be made that will enhance programs.鈥�

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