The Child and Family Policy Center convened key stakeholders during 2011 and again in 2013 to identify needed improvements to the state's child-care system. This plan reflects the input of focus groups of parents and providers held around Iowa and a planning committee of representatives from public and nonprofit organizations involved with child care. Affordable, high-quality child care provides a strong foundation for children's future well-being and improves the state's workforce now and later. Iowa's child care system has a strong base to build on, but too often falls short. This document is an update to a five-year child care improvement plan created in late 2011. Iowa has made several important gains since then--including two increases to provider reimbursement rates under child care assistance--but work remains in three major areas: (1) Affordability; (2) Availability; and (3) Quality. This brief document outlines important approaches and key strategies are in each of these areas.

The purpose of this document is to facilitate discussion among decision makers at the Iowa Department of Education (DE), Area Education Agencies (AEAs) and local communities (including school districts) to establish early childhood priorities, and define the AEA role in the statewide efforts to build a strong early care, health, and education system. Such vision and leadership has appropriately fallen on the shoulders of state and local partners. The current challenge is to manage time, personnel, and fiscal resources to create new and better ways of helping more children to begin kindergarten on a trajectory for success. This must start by identifying the most important priorities in early childhood and create a plan for improving the capacity to support children, families, and schools. Appended are: (1) Iowa's Early Care, Health and Education System, June 2003; and (2) Endorsements for Early Care, Health and Education System. [Document prepared by Early Childhood Special Education Leadership Network and the Iowa Department of Education.].

Iowa Council for Children and Families legislative priorities for 1981-82, recommendations from the Iowa White House Conference on Families, recommendations from the Iowa Commission on the International Year of the Child.

Policy statement prepared by the Child Care Policy Subcommittee.