Despite the federal funding supporting the development of early childhood integrated data systems in the United States, operational systems have not been successfully implemented in some states. More than 40 states have received one or more federal grants to support the development, yet there are only ten in operation. Yet little research has investigated how state agencies allocate their valuable time and limited resources to establish these systems crucial to informing policy decisions.

Staffing ECIDS leadership roles (ECIDS Lead, IT Lead, and Research or Analytics Lead) are critical to successful implementation of an ECIDS, yet states struggle to secure people in these positions with relevant expertise. This brief specifically concentrates on leadership staffing needed for ECIDS implementation.

In 2022,ECDataWorks conducted a nationwide study to assess the state capacity for implementing an ECIDS. This brief is one in a series of informative briefs aimed at assisting state leaders in making well-informed decisions regarding the necessary resources to build and maintain the capacity for ECIDS implementation.

Leveraging state resources to support an effort such as an ECIDS is not a new idea, but knowing which resources and where to leverage them when there are multiple agencies involved is important. This brief specifically concentrates on leveraging state resources needed for ECIDS implementation.

In 2022, ECDataWorks conducted a nationwide study to assess the state capacity for implementing an ECIDS. This brief is one in a series of informative briefs aimed at assisting state leaders in making well-informed decisions regarding the necessary resources to build and maintain the capacity for ECIDS implementation.

This brief highlights four key findings from the ECDataWorks 2022 National ECIDS Survey, which gathered feedback from state administrators and policymakers regarding the implementation of an ECIDS. These findings specifically concentrate on the technical resource capacity required for ECIDS implementation.

In 2022, ECDataWorks conducted a nationwide study to assess the state capacity for implementing an ECIDS. This brief is one in a series of informative briefs aimed at assisting state leaders in making well-informed decisions regarding the necessary resources to build and maintain the capacity for ECIDS implementation.

We discuss some time-tested strategies to plan for - and help mitigate - inevitable changes to ECIDS staffing, funding and state priorities.

Early childhood integrated data systems (ECIDS) sail on notoriously rough seas. From staffing changes and piecemeal funding to technology modernization and shifting state priorities, change is all too often the standard operating condition for most ECIDS leads and project teams. Strong data systems must be built to be resilient to those changes.

On this episode, Phil Sirinides interviews Missy Coffey about her recent report with co-author Jenna Nguyen, titled "Lessons Learned About ECIDS Teams, Infrastructure, and Composition."

With over a decade of experience in the field, Missy discusses the successes and challenges states face when putting together successful ECDIS project teams. Additionally, Missy explains the importance of being specific on the roles, capacity and amount of effort of teams, as states transition from planning to implementation of their early childhood data systems. And in order states to better accomplish their initiatives and goals in early childhood education, Missy and Phil talk about the need to align organizational, human, and technical capacities across the ECIDS teams.

This session presents the benefits and strategies for engaging with university partners to support the use of early childhood data. Anita McGinty (Director of Early Childhood with the Virginia Department of Education) and Erin Carroll (Research Associate Professor with the School of Education in Human Development at the University of Virginia) share their strategies for strong research to practice partnership in Virginia’s early childhood data effort.