Missouri’s Early Childhood Integrated Data System

Infrastructure to Support Early Childhood Systems

  • Data Systems

Missouri

Established in 2021, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Early Childhood Integrated Data SystemAn early childhood integrated data system (ECIDS) “collects, integrates, maintains, stores, and reports information from early childhood programs across multiple agencies.” Source: Institute of Education Sciences. (n.d.). functions as a warehouse for early childhood data. The system collects, stores, and maintains demographic and program information on young children’s development and participation in early childhood programs. Data is gathered from Children’s Trust Fund programs (e.g., Home Visiting) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (e.g., First Steps Early Intervention, Home Visiting Programs, Public Preschool, state-funded Early Head Start). While the data is currently internal to these agencies, the system will link with the state’s Statewide Longitudinal Data System for public use in the future.

The system is supported by the federal Preschool Development Birth through 5 Grant.

Sources: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (n.d.). Preschool Development Grant B-5

Connections to Key Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) Findings:

Strong infrastructure and systems – including governance structures and data systems – are key aspects of high-quality early education and care. And research suggests there is a need for more accessible, affordable, and high-quality early education within a mixed-delivery system; strengthening infrastructure and systems is one important way states and cities can take action to address these needs and accomplish these goals.

Findings from the Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) that connect to the need for more robust infrastructure and systems, including data systems:

  • Families rely on a range of formal (e.g., Head Start, center-based care, public pre-K) and more informal (e.g., home-based, relative care) early education settings; when choosing a setting for their child, families balance many logistical constraints and personal preferences.
  • But for many families – and especially low- and middle-income families – early education choices remain tightly constrained due to issues of affordability and supply.
  • No one early education setting type is inherently of higher quality than another; children develop and learn well in every setting type, and in the study, all setting types showed room to grow in quality.
  • We have learned a great deal from this groundbreaking, large-scale study. Nevertheless, there is still much to learn about what children, families, and educators need, and about what “works” – for whom and under what circumstances – across all the diverse settings where young children learn and grow.
Learn More about ELS@H Findings

Learn more about Missouri

Context matters. Visit the Missouri profile page to learn more about its demographics, political landscape, early education programs, early education workforce, and funding sources and streams.

Visit the Missouri Profile Here
  • The state population is 6,177,957
  • The percentage of children under 6 with all available parents in the workforce is 71%
  • The rural percentage is 30.5%