The childcare landscape in Jefferson Parish is complex and multi-faceted, with factors as diverse as geography, economics, COVID, language, and workforce impacting both supply and demand. One of the key goals of the Jefferson Ready Start Network is to make high quality early care and education available to all children in Jefferson Parish and to ensure that all children enter kindergarten healthy and ready for success. With only 12.4% of Jefferson children considered ready to learn when entering Kindergarten, based on the kindergarten entry assessment, this work is urgent. Changing these outcomes requires ensuring an adequate supply of affordable, accessible, and high-quality childcare, as well as building robust demand from families. Based on our comprehensive review of data about Jefferson Parish’s population, economic conditions, and childcare supply/demand data, combined with qualitative and anecdotal data gathered from focus groups, surveys, and interviews, we identify several key findings and suggest a number of aligned recommendations. (author abstract)
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Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
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Country:
United States
State(s):
Louisiana