RAND Community Conference on Early Childhood Issues

Taking Stock: California's Investment in Early Childhood Education and Possible Short-Term Effects of the Budget Crunch

This community conference is a public service of the RAND Corporation. There is no admission charge. However, seating is limited and advanced reservations are required.

Program

Evaluation of California's Investment in Early Childhood Education

California has fallen behind on many key indicators of education performance, prompting policymakers to look for strategies to improve student outcomes. Among the policy options being considered is the possibility of expanding public funding for preschool education as part of a broader agenda of education reform. To provide a foundation for evaluating the potential of such an expansion and how best to implement it, the RAND Corporation is undertaking the California Preschool Study, which seeks a better understanding of

• the size of achievement shortfalls overall in the early elementary grades and gaps in school performance between groups — defined, for example, by race-ethnicity or socioeconomic status — and the potential for preschool education to close existing gaps;
• how publicly funded early care and education (ECE) programs are structured and how effectively ECE funds are being spent; and
• rates of access to high-quality early learning programs among California’s children.

The findings of this study are being published in multiple volumes. Principal investigator Lynn Karoly will present a comprehensive summary of all published findings to date. Copies of the published studies will be available to all participants. Ms. Karoly is a senior economist at RAND, based in Washington, D.C. Her expertise includes early care and education, family and child well-being, poverty and inequality, retirement, social welfare policy, and U.S. labor markets.

The State Budget Crunch: Implications for Early Childhood Investment in 2009 and Beyond

Following the research presentation, a panel of state and regional policymakers will lead a broader discussion of the implications of the economic downturn and its effects on public funds to support early childhood investments. Leading the panel will be Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-41). Joining her will be Nick Ippolito, Children and Social Services Deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe (Chairman of First 5 LA). Also joining the panel will be Nancy Strohl, Executive Director, The Child Care Law Center (located in San Francisco). She will comment on the Obama Administration's likely priorities for early childhood programs. Camille Maben, Director, California State Department of Child Services, has also been invited to participate.

About RAND

RAND—an independent, nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis—has been expanding the boundaries of human knowledge for more than 60 years. With a research staff consisting of some of the world's preeminent minds, RAND keeps policymakers ahead of the curve on the issues that matter most, such as health care, education, national security, civil justice, the environment, and more. No other institution tackles tough policy problems across so broad a spectrum.

Further Inquiries

Contact Saci Detamore at (310) 393-0411, ext. 7560.