Launched in 2020, Montana’s Early Childhood and Family Support Division in the Department of Public Health and Human Services brings together the states' Child Care and Development Fund, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Head Start Collaboration Office, and Early Learning Advisory Council. The Early Childhood Services Bureau’s mission is to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of early care and education in Montana, with a focus on creating coordinated systems that meet the needs of young children, their families, and the professionals who serve them. Learn More: Montana Early Childhood and Family Support Division Sources: Montana Early Childhood and Family Support Division (2023) Bipartisan Policy Center (2023). Integrated Efficient Early Care and Education Systems

In November 2020, voters in Multnomah County approved Measure 26-214, or Preschool for All (PFA), which extends free preschool to three- and four-year-olds across the county. Sixty-four percent of voters supported the measure, which was championed by Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson.  PFA is funded by a personal income tax, which the county plans to use to expand the early childhood education system by 12,000 publicly funded preschool slots by 2030. Specifically, the county will create new preschool classrooms, subsidize existing ones, and offer teachers higher pay (from $19.91 to $37 per hour).  To participate, children must be three or four years old by September 1 and have a parent or legal guardian living in Multnomah County. The number of PFA seats will grow over time, increasing the number of providers and families, until the system is universally available in 2030. This program has no expiration date.  LEARN MORE: MULTNOMAH COUNTY PRESCHOOL FOR ALL Sources: Frost, A. (2023). Parents and providers highlight successes of Preschool for All. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Multnomah County Department of County Human Services. (n.d.). Questions & Answers. Peel, S. (2023). Multnomah County’s Big Plans to Fund Universal Preschool Have So Far Produced Pint-Sized Results. Willamette Week.

In 2021, North Dakota enacted HB 1416, which merges offices and programs encompassing child care, preschool and pre-K, home visiting, early intervention and professional development into the Department of Health and Human Services’ Early Childhood Section. According to Kagan and Gomez (2015) consolidating early childhood programs under one agency can decrease duplication of services. Learn More: North Dakota Early Childhood Services Source:North Dakota Department of Human Services (2021). Introducing the New Early Childhood Division.  North Dakota Legislative Assembly (2021). HB 1416. Summaries of Fiscal Year 2023 Enacted Budgets Bipartisan Policy Center (2023). Integrated Efficient Early Care and Education Systems Kagan, L. and Gomez, R. (Eds.). (2015) Early Childhood Governance: Choices and Consequences. Teachers College Press.

Since 1993, Nebraska has allocated a portion of lottery ticket sales to the Education Innovation Fund, which is used to support grants from early childhood through adult education. As of July 2016, this funding allocation for education was just over 44% of the state’s lottery ticket sales. Learn More: Nebraska Early Childhood Education State Report Source: Nebraska Lottery. (2023). Proceeds Transferred Since 1993.

The Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council’s Early Childhood Data Dashboard is a data visualization tool. It provides demographic and program information on the current status and trends of the state's population, workforce, child care, and economy for public use. Developed with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the tool is a part of the work of the Early Childhood Advisory Council, which was established in Assembly Bill 79 in 2021. Learn More: Nevada Early Childhood Dashboard

In July 2022, the State of Nevada IDEA Part C Office submitted a proposal to the Department of Health and Human Services Director’s Office for increased federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fiscal Recovery Funds from the Governor's Finance Office to provide funding to develop an Early Intervention Personnel Center. The proposed personnel center would provide a credible and comparable alternative option for early intervention staff to meet their licensure requirements. This retention initiative was planned to be free for personnel, with all costs to be covered by the ARPA grant and/or the IDEA Part C Office. The proposal was accepted, and the Nevada Early Intervention Professional Development Center's first initiative is a Developmental Specialist Core Series (DS Series) that launched in April 2023 at no cost to professional learners . The DS series brings together a cohort of early educators who take 8 five-week courses that meet virtually once per week. The cohort will meet for approximately 18 months, and participants are expected to devote 35 hours per 5-week course to their studies. The courses cover required Early Childhood Special Education areas as determined by the Nevada Department of Education. Completion of the DS Series will meet the Alternative Certification requirements with the IDEA Part C Office and is deemed to be equivalent to an Endorsement for Early Childhood Developmentally Delayed. Learn more: Nevada Early Intervention Professional Development Center Sources: Nevada Early Intervention Professional Development Center. (2023). Program Catalog 2023-2024. Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Early Intervention FAQs.

Since 2018, in partnership with multiple other state agencies, the New Jersey Early Learning Commission has hosted the New Jersey Enterprise Analysis System for Early Learning (NJ-EASEL), the state's early childhood integrated data system. Functioning as both a warehouse and a series of data-sharing agreements, the system shares demographic, program, workforce, and individual level data on early childhood programs and the children and families they serve. NJ-EASEL integrates data internally across multiple departments (e.g., Department of Education, Department of Children and Families, Department of Human Services, and Department of Health). The system does not yet have a public arm, but it supports the statewide longitudinal data system, NJEEDS. NJ-EASEL was built after Governor Chris Christie’s Executive Order No. 77 in 2011 established the Early Learning Commission. The system was launched in 2018 and has been funded by federal grants including Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant and Preschool Development Grant Birth Through 5 (PDG B-5). Learn More: Birth to 3 Years: NJ Enterprise Analysis System for Early Learning Sources:New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System . (2021). 2021 Year in Review. LiBetti, A. & Fu, R. (2022). A State Scan of Early Learning Assessments and Data Systems. New America Early Childhood Policy Matters. (2022). Advancing Early Childhood Integrated Data in New Jersey - Early Childhood Policy Matters

In 2022, New Jersey launched Phase I of the New Jersey Strategic Plan for Preschool Expansion to provide full-day, high-quality preschool to all three- and four-year-old children in the state. The two-part plan will guide the state in transitioning to universal preschool. In 2022, New Jersey served 20% of 3-year-olds and 29% of 4-year-olds through its state preschool programs. The forthcoming Phase II of the Strategic Plan, which will focus on implementation, will be released in fall 2023.  New Jersey’s commitment to transitioning to universal preschool accords with the state’s history of investing in early learning. The state's first publicly funded preschool program, the Abbott Preschool Program, was created as a result of a 1998 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on school funding that mandated the creation of state-funded, high-quality preschool programs open to all 3- and 4-year-old children living in 31 of the state's highest poverty school districts. Today, New Jersey’s pre-K programs serve children in public-school, Head Start, and community-based programs; more than half of all participating children are served in Head Start or community-based settings. Starting and ongoing pay parity is required for community-based educators who have education and experience levels comparable to those serving in the public schools. For six years in a row, New Jersey has increased funding for preschool, including a $40 million increase for the 2022-2023 school year.  The state has already begun supporting the infrastructure for universal pre-K. In 2023, the state was awarded a $2.3 million federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant to increase workforce capacity, and Governor Murphy announced $120 million in grants for preschool facilities.  Learn More: New Jersey Universal Preschool Sources:  New Jersey Department of Education (2022). New Jersey Strategic Plan for Preschool Expansion Phase I: The Foundation. EditSign $120M Available for NJ Preschool Facility Expansions. (2023).  New Jersey Business Magazine.  National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). New Jersey. National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). Fact Sheet – New Jersey Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study through Grade 10 (APPLES-10).

In 2020 and 2021, New Mexico's new Early Childhood Education and Care Department partnered with consultants to better understand the cost of programs serving its youngest citizens. It developed a cost estimation model including factors related to QRIS rating, centers and home-based-settings, and age groups. New Mexico was the only state to seek approval for an alternative methodology in its Child Care Development Fund plan for 2022–24. Learn more: child care and development fund (CCDF) Source: New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (2022). Understanding the cost of quality care in New Mexico.

Founded in 2016, the New Mexico Public Education Department's (NMPED) New Mexico Early Childhood Integrated Data System functions as a warehouse for state early childhood programs and policies. The system stores and integrates demographic, program, workforce, and individual data across the three agencies of NMPED; Child, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD); and the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH). The system deidentifies individual data by providing a unique identifier to each child. Starting in 2023, the New Mexico Department of Early Childhood Education and Care will be collaborating with three other state agencies to use this data to contribute to the state’s new P-20 integrated data system, Research Informing Success in Education (RISE) New Mexico. The system has been funded by the federal Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant and Preschool Development Grant Birth Through 5 (PDG B-5). The new RISE New Mexico system has been funded by $4.25 million from the 2022 legislative session (state appropriates), 2 million in federal omnibus spending bills, grants, public entities, and NGOs since its inception in 2021. Learn More: The New Mexico Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) Other Sources:New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department. (2021). Annual Outcomes Report.Research Informing Success in Education NM (2023). RISE NM

Launched in 2005, New Mexico’s prekindergarten program served 11% of 3-year-olds and 42% of 4-year-olds in the 2021-2022 school year. The program enrolled 12,567 children in 2021-2022, an increase of 2,179 from the prior year. While eligibility is not determined by income, two-thirds of children enrolled at each program must live in the attendance zone of a Title I elementary school. Programs are funded through an application and grant process.   New Mexico PreK is funded by a competitive application and grant process. Funds are supported by a constitutional amendment, which New Mexico voters approved in 2022, that increased the distribution from the Land Grant Permanent Fund by 1.25%. Sixty percent of this increase provides $140 million annually to the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD). In FY 2024, New Mexico will spend $98 million on preschool expansion. Through this investment, over 3,000 more slots for children will be created, including 554 new slots in tribal pre-K programs as part of the White House’s efforts to expand pre-K programs through intergovernmental agreements.  In December 2022, New Mexico was awarded a federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant for $10 million. Funds from this award will be used to support continued expansion across the state. Learn More: New Mexico NIEER Profile Sources: At White House, governor highlights New Mexico’s early childhood education improvements. (2023). NM Political Report. NIEER Declares New Mexico a National Leader in PreK (2023). National Institute for Early Education Research.

Since recreational cannabis use was legalized in 2021, New York’s cannabis tax revenue has gone into the New York State Cannabis Revenue Fund, 40% of which is to be allocated to the Community Grants Reinvestment Fund. This money can be applied to after-school and childcare services in communities, as well as "services to address adverse childhood experiences." The first disbursement of this fund is planned for 2023. Learn More/Source: New York State Office of Cannabis Management