Created in 2012, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' North Carolina Early Childhood Integrated Data System (NC ECIDS) is a warehouse for data on education, health, and social services provided to children from birth to age 5. The warehouse, which began as a federated system (i.e., a data sharing system that does not consolidate all data in one warehouse), integrates demographic, program, and individual data on education, health, and social services to children birth to age 5 (e.g., data from NC Pre-K, Child Care Financial Assistance, NC Infant Toddler Program, Food and Nutrition Services, Child Protective Services, Work First Family Assistance, Head Start, Preschool Exceptional Children's Program, etc.). NC ECIDS provides individual data using unique identifiers to agencies or to qualified researchers or institutions that have requested data. It also provides public demographic and program data on the state’s Early Childhood Data Dashboards by program, fiscal year, gender, race, ethnicity, age, and county. NC ECIDS supports the state’s P-20 longitudinal data system. The system has received federal funds from the Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge Grant and Preschool Development Grant Birth Through 5 (PDG- B-5). Learn More: North Carolina Early Childhood Integrated Data System Sources:North Carolina Department of Information Technology and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2020). The Roadmap to a North Carolina Longitudinal Data System (NCLDS)North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (2022). NCDHHS Launches New Integrated Early Childhood Data Dashboards.US Department of Health and Human Services, US Department of Education. (2016). The Integration of Early Childhood Data

In 2006, the North Carolina State Lottery was established and signed into law by the state legislature. The lottery proceeds include an Education Lottery Fund (about 20% of the overall proceeds), a portion of which is dedicated to Pre-K. In fiscal year 2022, 7.4% of lottery revenue, or just under $69 million, was directed toward funding preschool in the state. Learn More: North Carolina Education Lottery Source: North Carolina Education Lottery. (2022). History of Lottery Fund Assignment.

Launched in 2014, New York City's universal Pre-K for All program serves 4-year-old children across the city's 5 boroughs. Pre-K for All was followed by a pilot of 3-K for All, a version of the program for 3-year-olds, in 2017. Pre-K for All operates through a mixed-delivery system, and children are served by community-based organizations, public schools, and Pre-K Centers, the last of which are pre-K and 3-K-only facilities run by Department of Education (DOE) staff. All 4-year-olds are eligible for "School Day" slots, which provide education and care for 6 hours and 20 minutes a day during the school year, which typically runs from September to June. Some families are eligible for additional programs, including extended-day and extended-year education and care. Expansion efforts in the City are currently stalled as a new administration may pull back expanding access for both pre-K and 3K. Learn More: New York City Pre-K Sources:New York State Education Department. (n.d.). Universal Prekindergarten Expansion Funding.New York Times. (2023). New York City’s Pre-K System Was a Model. Now Employees Say It’s a Mess.New York City Public Schools. (n.d.). 3-K for All & Pre-K for All Handbook.

The Oakland Children’s Initiative (Measure AA) was approved by voters in November 2018 and was upheld by the courts in 2021. This charter amendment authorizes the City of Oakland to collect $198 per year in parcel tax on single-family homes, and $135.25 per year per unit of multi-unit residences, from FY 2019-20 to FY 2048-49. This will produce around $35 million annually in funding for early care and education and college preparedness programs for Oakland residents for the next 30 years. Qualifying low-income households can be exempted from the parcel tax. Sixty-two percent of the tax revenue is used to expand access to and quality of early education and child care. Another seven percent is used for oversight and accountability, including the cost of operating the mayor-appointed Citizens’ Oversight Commission, which administers audits, implementation planning, and outreach.  Oakland leaders aim to use this revenue to deliver preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds in the city within a decade. For now, initial investments will improve facilities serving 3- and 4-year-olds and provide staffing support. The funds will also provide professional development, training, and coaching for early educators, as well as increase access to classroom materials and technology. Measure AA was entangled in legal battles following its initial approval by 62% of voters. Although the measure specified that it needed two-thirds approval to pass, the City Council later determined that only a simple majority, or 50%, was needed. In January 2019, the Oakland Jobs and Housing Coalition, along with a group of property owners, sued the City of Oakland, arguing that the City Council certified Measure AA unlawfully, given that it failed to earn support from two-thirds of the voters. But in December 2021, a California appeals court upheld the measure’s passage on the legal grounds that citizen-led ballot initiatives need only a simple majority, regardless of the language on the ballot. LEARN MORE: OAKLAND CHILDREN'S INITIATIVE Sources: City of Oakland. (2018). Measure AA. Ballotpedia. (2018). Oakland, California, Measure AA, Education Parcel Tax Charter Amendment. New America. (2023). In the San Francisco Bay Area, Two New Funds Support Early Care and Education. First 5 Alameda County. (n.d.). Ballot Measures. Oakland North. (2019). Lawsuit challenges Oakland’s certification of education funding tax Measure AA.

In June of 2011, Governor Snyder signed Executive Order 2011-8 creating the Michigan Office of Great Start (OGS), within the Department of Education (MDE). The Office helps coordinate early education programs and funding streams for the state and oversees Michigan's publicly funded pre-K program, the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP). The OGS is part of the P–20 System and Student Transitions Division in the MDE. There are four offices within OGS that all report to the deputy superintendent of the division, including Early Childhood Development and Family Education; Preschool and Out-of-School Time Learning; Child Development and Care; and Head Start Collaboration. Learn more: Michigan Great Start Readiness Program Sources:Education Commission of the States (2021). Early Care and Education Governance.School Readiness Consulting & Michigan Department of Education. (2022). Michigan's Collective Early Childhood Action Plan.

Philadelphia’s Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action was created in 2022 to host the city’s integrated data system. The system collects, stores, links administrative records on demographic, program, individual data on social services across multiple city programs (e.g., birth records, health records, foster care, pre-K, early intervention) and agencies (e.g., Education, Early Childhood, Housing). The private individual-level data is matched and deidentified using an internal matching system. The data system is used internally for policymaking and research in the city and has strong ties to Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) at the University of Pennsylvania. The Office of Integrated Data for Evidence and Action was created by Mayor James Kenney’s Executive Order 2-22. But the city's integrated data system—formerly known as both CARES and KIDS—had existed since 2002, funded by seed grants from William Penn Foundation and by a collaboration among the City of Philadelphia, the School District of Philadelphia, and the University of Pennsylvania. Learn More: The Office of Integrated Data for Evidence & Action

Since 2007, the Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association (OCCRRA) has been the state’s workforce registry and learning management system for early care and learning professionals. OCCRRA provides professional development and technical assistance to early childhood and K-12 professionals, along with support to parents and the community. The Ohio Professional Registry (OPR) is Ohio’s workforce registry information system. It captures data about early childhood and K-12 professionals in a variety of roles and settings and serves as a comprehensive data repository for employment, professional development, education and credentials. OCCRRA created the Workforce and Program Analysis Platform (WPAP), which converts OPR data and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services records into anonymized, aggregated dashboards. The dashboards allow for the review and analysis of workforce and program turnover, churn, and retention in early childhood education across multiple variables.  In December 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. On May 17, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 109, which allowed these funds to be used to support verified early childhood professionals. As a result, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) instituted Hero Pay, which provides bonuses of up to $3,000 to eligible child care professionals. WPAP was able to demonstrate that Hero Pay correlated with greater retention of participating early learning providers. Most states and the District of Columbia require enrollment in a registry for anyone participating in federal or state-subsidized programs or services (i.e. TEACH, WAGE$, QRIS, Scholarship, Apprenticeship, etc.).  Ohio, among others, relied on workforce registries to support ECE compensation efforts. Learn more: Workforce and Program Analysis Platform (WPAP) Sources: OCCRRA 2022 Annual Report (2022). Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association. Powerful ECE Registry Data is Key to Informing Workforce Compensation Policy and Strategies. (2022). National Workforce Registry Alliance.

Launched in 2021, the Wage Supplement Program, an initiative of Oklahoma Human Services Child Care Services, provides supplemental pay to early educators and directors across the state. This program is designed to retain early education professionals and support their professional development; in turn, this creates a more stable workforce with the skills needed to support young children's healthy learning and development. Supplements range from $400 to $2,000 per educator or director per year. To be eligible, educators and directors must serve in a licensed child care setting with a two-star quality rating or higher, participate in the state professional development ladder or maintain a director's credential, work a minimum of 30 hours per week providing or supporting child care, and remain at their program for a minimum of 6 months. Learn More: Oklahoma Child Care Wage Supplement Sources:Oklahoma Center for Early Childhood Professional Development. (2022). Child Care Wage Supplement.Oklahoma Center for Early Childhood Professional Development. (2022). Wage Supplement Scale.

Oklahoma City provides free, full-day seats for any 4-year-old child living in the city limits. The Universal Pre-K (UPK) program is voluntary and offered through a mixed-delivery model, with students attending classes in public schools, Head Start programs, and community-based organizations. The city has instituted various quality improvement measures for its UPK classrooms, including lead teacher credentialing, class size and ratio requirements, and play-based curricula. Learn More: Oklahoma City Pre-K & Kindergarten Sources:Oklahoma City Public Schools. (n.d.). Pre-K & Kindergarten.Washington Monthly. (2022). Sooner the Better.

Oklahoma’s voluntary public prekindergarten program currently serves 65% of the state’s 4-year-olds in a mixed-delivery model, offering programming in public schools, Head Start, and community-based organizations, as well as some private institutions such as assisted living homes. Funded spots for 4-year-olds are available in 100% of the state's districts. Oklahoma also offers funding for 3-year-olds through the Oklahoma Early Childhood Program (OECP). Oklahoma is 2nd (after Washington, DC) in national access rankings for 4-year-olds according to the National Institute for Early Education Research. Following a report from the Center for American Progress which showed that 55% of Oklahoma’s population lived in child care deserts, the Oklahoma State Department of Human Services announced the initiation of a Child Care Desert Startup Grant in 2022, meant to increase accessibility in areas of the state that lack sufficient quality care options. Learn More: Oklahoma Pre-k Sources:National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). Oklahoma.Washington Monthly. (2022). Sooner the Better.Oklahoma Human Services. (2022). Expanding the business community and growing capacity: Oklahoma Human Services announces Child Care Desert Startup Grants.

In 2021, the Oregon Legislature passed HB 3073, which created the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC). DELC was established on July 1, 2023. This agency combined the state's early education programs under one roof by moving the Employment Related Day Care program (ERDC), which was housed in the Oregon Department of Human Services (OHDS), to DELC. According to the DELC, this change will allow more efficient child care searching for families, will offer more training sessions for license-exempt providers, and will expand the types of providers and programs under the agency while prioritizing mixed-delivery of early care and education. The creation of a new department will not automatically create better outcomes for children, but it can help provide the structure and coordination needed to improve early education quality and accessibility across a state or city (Kagan & Gomez, 2015). Learn More: Oregon Early Learning Division Sources:Department of Early Learning and Care - Oregon Early Learning Division HB3073 2021 Regular Session - Oregon Legislative Information System Oregon Early Learning Division Infographic (2022)Kagan, L. and Gomez, R. (Eds.). (2015) Early Childhood Governance: Choices and Consequences. Teachers College Press.

First implemented in June 2022, the Partner Up! grant program provides funding to help businesses purchase child care slots on behalf of their employees. Child care programs can apply as businesses to help cover the cost of child care expenses for their own staff. This program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act, the Preschool Development Grant, and Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy and Training. Learn more: Partner up! Grant Program Sources:Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. (n.d.). Partner Up! Grant Program.