Iowa Community Empowerment and Early Childhood Iowa Regional Retreat
Local Early Childhood Systems Development Assessment
Adapted from the Building Connections State Team Assessment developed by the Child and Family Policy
Center and the Build Initiative, 2006
Name of Community Empowerment Area: _________________________________
Instructions and Tips
This assessment identifies critical components of a state-local early childhood
system-building effort.
Respond to this question after reading the brief description that goes with each
component:
To what extent do your local early childhood system-building efforts
feature the following components?
Rate your Community Empowerment Area (CEA) on the 10-point continuum
that follows each component description.
0
1
It’s a distant dream
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Use the comments section to qualify your responses or make notes about why you
gave the rating you did. Also include opportunities for follow-up or next steps that
emerge during your thinking and reflection.
1
1. Shared Vision
There is an accepted and shared vision of what a high quality and successful early
childhood system looks like in your community. There is a shared vision of how you
will know if that system is successful.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
It’s a distant dream
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
2. Who is at the table? Representative and meaningful cross-sector engagement.
Diverse partners are actively engaged and involved in cross sector and collaborative
planning efforts. Representatives should come from the business community, early
care and education, health, human services, family support, law enforcement, early
intervention and parents.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
It’s a distant dream
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
Please identify who you think is missing from the table.
2
3. A focus on early childhood system building.
System building efforts focus on effectively and efficiently coordinating, integrating
and aligning programs. There are strong partnerships between and among early
care, health, and education providers. Programs and policies align with an eye
toward more effective and coordinated support for young children and their families
across programs.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
It’s a distant dream
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
4. Capacity and expertise.
Staff within local/regional agencies and within the provider sector have the skills,
knowledge base and support to effectively manage systems building, including the
resources to provide for technical assistance, staff development, and monitoring
oversight for quality assurance.
0
1
It’s a distant dream
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
3
5. Flexibility
Communities have different needs, strengths and priorities. System-building efforts
emphasize local flexibility when determining which organizations, services or efforts
will most effectively respond to community needs. Decision-making focusing on local
needs and program priorities are shared between local and state decision makers.
Federal regulations and rules don’t distract from identified local needs and gaps.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
It’s a distant dream
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
6. Identification of local needs
There is a consistent and accessible mechanism for assessing the needs of young
children and their families in your community and area. Planners know what the gaps
are and there is a plan to fill those gaps. The assessment was conducted with a wide
variety of partners at the table.
0
1
It’s a distant dream
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
4
7. Local strategic plan.
There is a strategic plan that identifies long and short term goals and strategies for
successful and healthy young children and families. This plan is shared with other
stakeholders, policy makers, and the community. The plan was produced with a
wide variety of partners at the table. The plan is based on a community assessment
of needs. The plan includes ways to measure success and outcomes.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
It’s a distant dream
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
8. Highly visible champions.
There are motivated and visible champions in the private and public sector who
understand the importance of a well-funded, well-integrated and comprehensive
early childhood system. They are willing and able to speak publicly to its importance
and use their positions to encourage investment and attention on this issue.
0
1
It’s a distant dream
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
Please list names of people you believe are champions. Who is not on this list, but
should be?
5
9. Mechanisms for local input into state-level system decisions.
There is regular and intentional two-way communication through meetings, forums,
or workshops involving both state and community representatives focusing on policy
decisions that impact local work and planning. Input from communities is essential to
identifying areas where state rules and procedures can be modified to better achieve
results and to assure that state level system building efforts reflect lessons that have
been learned locally. More generally, there is an understanding of what is happening
at the state level and local voices are brought into that state level early childhood
system building process.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
It’s a distant dream
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
10. Sufficient investments in local-level leadership.
Leadership for system-building at the local level should not be a volunteer effort.
Infrastructure is needed to make collaboration and system-building efforts successful
and sustainable. This includes funding for community-level staffing, along with
technical assistance and training. Partners feel like they have sufficient TA and
support.
0
1
It’s a distant dream
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
6
11. Opportunities for connecting local efforts to statewide advocacy.
For there to be effective advocacy it must be grounded at the local level, engaging
community leaders and families. Local entities and individuals are very aware of
early childhood system needs and can be compelling spokespersons for system
issues such as community collaboration and integration, and quality services.
Families, program participants, and local constituents should have a state level
voice--sharing successes and needs. There should also be strategies in place for
public engagement and advocacy training at the local level.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
It’s a distant dream
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
12. Mechanisms for learning and innovation across communities.
There are opportunities to share innovations and ideas with other communities and
the state level system building efforts. Communities can explore and test new
programs and ideas more quickly and cost-effectively than the state, taking
advantage of energy that exists at the local level.
0
1
It’s a distant dream
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
7
13. Leveraging of local and private resources to support the early childhood
system.
Communities should pursue opportunities to generate and leverage local funding and
resources to support early childhood system-building efforts through private and
public investments.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
It’s a distant dream
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
14. Attention to diversity and cultural congruence.
Some communities vary greatly in terms of race, culture, and language. Developing
culturally-competent and congruent early childhood systems that respond to each
community’s cultural mix is essential for success. Local efforts need to pay particular
and intentional attention to these issues. Effective early childhood systems should
be tailored to the children and families they serve. The stakeholders and planners
reflect the multiculturalism and multilanguages of the local populations.
0
1
It’s a distant dream
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
It’s a proven reality
Comments: (e.g. reasons for your rating, gaps, barriers, opportunities)
8
Wrap up questions:
What three things did your team find most surprising as you worked through this
assessment?
Identify the CEAs two biggest successes in building an integrated, coordinated early
childhood system.
Identify the CEAs two biggest challenges to moving ahead with an integrated and
coordinated early childhood system.
9