National Center for Children in Poverty

Starting Points: Challenging the "Quiet Crisis"--A Description of the Starting Points Sites -- Executive Summary

In 1994, the Carnegie Corporation of New York released Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children which called for an action agenda on behalf of America's youngest children and families to promote responsible parenthood, guarantee quality child care choices, ensure good health and protection, and mobilize communities to support young children and families.

In 1996, the Carnegie Corporation created a Starting Points grants program to encourage states and communities to address the challenges posed by the report. Based on a national competition, 14 grants were awarded: eight to states, four to cities, and two to city/state partnerships. This report summarizes the strategies and activities undertaken by each Starting Points site, as well as the overall themes and lessons for policymakers, advocates, and others concerned with the well-being of very young children and their families.

THE STARTING POINTS SITES

BALTIMORE: The Baltimore Starting Points Initiative
BOSTON: Connecting the Dots for Boston Tots
COLORADO: Bright Beginnings
FLORIDA: The Florida Starting Points Initiative
GEORGIA/ATLANTA: The Georgia/Atlanta Starting Points Initiative
HAWAII: 1-2-3 Steps to a Stronger Community
MINNESOTA/MINNEAPOLIS: Building Better Villages
NORTH CAROLINA: The North Carolina Starting Points Initiative
OHIO: The Ohio Starting Points Initiative
PITTSBURGH: The Pittsburgh Starting Points Initiative
RHODE ISLAND: The Rhode Island Starting Points Initiative
SAN FRANCISCO: The San Francisco Starting Points Initiative
VERMONT: The Vermont Starting Points Initiative
WEST VIRGINIA: The West Virginia Starting Points Initiative

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FINDINGS

Three dominant approaches define the efforts of the Starting Points sites. These are:

Program development and quality improvement approaches that involve expanding and improving program and service delivery. Three of the sites (Baltimore, Minnesota/Minneapolis, and West Virginia) focused on this as their primary strategy.

Systems change approaches that involve initiating or enhancing leadership mechanisms for planning, decision making, and resource allocation on behalf of very young children and families. Seven of the sites (Boston, Georgia/Atlanta, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, San Francisco, and Vermont) focused on this as their primary strategy.

Community mobilization and public-engagement approaches to better inform the public about the importance of the earliest years and to mobilize families and decision makers on their behalf. Four of the sites (Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, and Ohio) focused on this as their primary strategy.

Notwithstanding the fact that each site had a primary strategy, most sites used a combination of these strategies.

States used the Starting Points initiative to strengthen preexisting systems change initiatives for young children, or to focus on young children in the context of preexisting initiatives for all children. However, only one of the city-only Starting Points sites was in a state with an explicit preexisting initiative for young children.

More than half of the sites used the initiative to strengthen the service delivery systems for infants and toddlers and their families, expanding home-visiting programs, developing family resource centers focused on very young children and families, or improving the quality of early-care programs.

LESSONS LEARNED

Building new state-community partnerships requires a "delicate balance" that allows communities autonomy and decision-making authority, but also provides some clear objectives, expected outcomes, and supports through technical assistance, increased funding, and other resources.
When sites have a clear vision and goals, they are in a better position to capitalize on political and other opportunities, and to expand the array of strategies that they use.
The city-level grants turned the spotlight on the need to build new leadership forms and forums at the city and county level on behalf of children's services. To date, much of the effort to generate systems change has been focused at the state level.
Training and technical support that facilitates national, state, and local networking and peer-to-peer dialogue seems most effective.
Public-engagement strategies and community mobilization require tailoring messages and approaches to particular audiences, coordination among state and city groups working on children's issues to avoid message confusion, and linkage with national campaigns.
Improving opportunities and outcomes for young children and families takes time. There is no quick fix for policies or practices that need to be reframed to better meet the complex needs of today's parents of very young children.

This report was a collaborative effort of the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), at Columbia School of Public Health, and the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP), at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, with the assistance of five Strategic Partners nominated by the Starting Points sites. For further information contact Jane Knitzer at NCCP, (212) 304-7124, or Diane Schilder at HFRP, (617) 495-9108. To order the report, contact NCCP at 154 Haven Ave., New York, NY 10032; Tel: (212) 304-7100; Fax: (212) 544-4200.

The abridged report is available at the National Center for Children in Poverty's web site. The full report may be ordered from the web site.

For Other Info:
National Center on Children in Poverty
Columbia University School of Public Health
Receptionist: 212-304-7100; Fax: 212-544-4200
E-mail: nccp@columbia.edu

For further information or questions regarding this web site, please email mailbox@ncoff.gse.upenn.edu

National Center on Fathers and Families
University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Education
3700 Walnut Street, Box 58
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216

Date Posted: 02/27/98; Date Revised: 02/27/98
http://www.ncoff.gse.upenn.edu/
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