Investing in Children

On Wednesday, October 13, the Center on Children and Families at Brookings and the National Institute for Early Education Research will release a new collection of papers that assesses the field of early childhood education and child care. Edited by Senior Fellow Ron Haskins and W. Steven Barnett of Rutgers University, Investing in Young Children: New Directions in Federal Preschool and Early Childhood Policy focuses on Early Head Start, Head Start, and home visiting programs. The editors recommend promising reforms for all three programs, including closing ineffective Head Start centers or giving other program operators the opportunity to compete for Head Start funds. Other recommendations include offering a few states broad regulatory relief to innovate and coordinate Head Start with other state preschool educational programs and child care. To view the full report, visit nieer.org.

To address these issues, the Center on Children and Families will host a discussion featuring Haskins and Barnett. A panel of experts and program administrators will offer their views on the analysis, especially on the recommendations to reform Head Start.

Speakers and panelists, listed below, will take audience questions. To register, click here: https://www.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=3e34ba9a-fc57-46cc-9e93-2ded83732c5e.

Welcome: Ron Haskins
Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Brookings Institution

Overview: W. Steven Barnett
Professor and Co-Director, National Institute for Early Education (NIEER), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Panel:
Ben Allen
Director, Public Policy and Research, National Head Start Association

Harriet Dichter
National Director, First Five Years

Roberto Rodriguez
Domestic Policy Council, The White House

Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies

Nicholas Zill
Educational Consultant