Capitalizing on these investments and the momentum of using I2D2 for ECE policy research, this project will expand the prior project by adding additional data (Early Head Start[EHS], more comprehensive demographic information, and longitudinal school performance records) to the representative K cohort dataset involving over 27,000 children in Iowa. We will focus on a subsample from this population of children who attended HS any of the two years before entering K in SY2016-17 or SY2017-18 (expected N = 5,780). First, we will study HS children’s participation in other public ECE programs by identifying (1) the sequential patterns of EHS/HS utilization during the infant/toddler and preschool years (0-5 years) and (2) concurrent and sequential utilization of other public ECE programs during the preschool years(3-5 years). Then, we will examine how such ECE utilization patterns differ by child and family characteristics, and how ECE utilization patterns differently predict school outcomes for diverse children based on race/ethnicity, home language, residential area (urbanicity), and poverty status. Analytic approaches include basic descriptive statistics, multiple regression, logistic regression, and latent profile analysis.

One key value of I2D2 is the strategic stakeholder engagement processes that ensure analytic questions are relevant and findings are translated for use in partnership with community leaders. Questions for this project were developed in discussions with these leaders about findings from the prior study, and current challenges and opportunities for expanding HS partnerships among local districts and child care centers to meet the needs of Iowa families. Understanding the typologies and outcomes related to HS children’s multiple ECE utilization patterns will inform strategic approaches supporting low-income children’s early development by highlighting patterns of ECE participation that best relate to school readiness and identifying groups of families who have the least access to successful participation patterns. (author abstract)