The expected outcome of this research is information that policymakers and program administrators in Ohio can use to make decisions that will effectively reduce the incidence of early childhood expulsions for all children and to eliminate racial disparities in expulsion rates for Black children specifically. To reach this outcome, I am proposing a three-phase mixed methods study using and linking secondary data between the following data sources: 1. Referrals to a statewide expulsion prevention program—the Ohio Preschool Expulsion Prevention Partnership (OPEPP); 2. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) Licensing Database; 3. American Community Survey. First, I will use the linked ODJFS—OPEPP—ACS data to identify the program and community characteristics that predict referrals to the OPEPP program. Second, I will use the qualitative data contained within OPEPP referrals to deeply examine the ways in which referral sources describe the children at risk for expulsions and their behaviors, with a particular focus on differences (if any) in descriptions associated with Black and non-Black children. Third, I will transform a subset of the qualitative data into quantitative variables and use these along with variables associated with child and program factors in an analysis of the differential effectiveness of expulsion prevention efforts by race. Finally, I will integrate the results of the three phases into a cohesive structure that advances our understanding of how race is influential in the process of early childhood expulsions. (author abstract)