From college, I pursued a master’s degree in public policy and a PhD in public affairs, always engaging with professors whose work focused on children, families, and communities. At Mathematica, I’ve been fortunate to pursue those interests further, particularly in generating evidence about how Head Start, child care, and preschool programs support children and families and how early childhood programs and systems prepare and support the early care and education workforce.
I love working in the early childhood area in general, but it is a privilege to carry out work that informs policy and practice for federal programs that reach so many children and families. For example, it has been incredibly rewarding to help generate evidence helpful to Head Start, because its programs have always served as a model of how to provide high-quality services, meet the needs of whole families (children and their parents), and do so while being responsive to the needs and preferences of local communities.
Equity is at the core of how Head Start operates. I started my career at Mathematica as part of the team for the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), a research project funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE). Because this research happens on such a large scale, it provides insight into so many facets of what goes into bringing high-quality care to children and families. We learn directly from program staff and families about how staff deliver quality services, how programs support families and work with them as partners, and how children learn and develop. The work is rewarding because we know it informs OPRE, the Office of Head Start, and the broader early care and education field, with the potential to improve services for children and families in Head Start and beyond.
In terms of the workforce, the general question that has driven so much of my work is, “What can we do to support members of the early care and education workforce as they're supporting children and families?” Being part of the early care and education workforce can be incredibly fulfilling, but it’s also really hard. Delivering high-quality care and education that is responsive to each child is skilled and complicated work, and yet the pay is very low. When my own children were young, they had teachers and caregivers who needed second jobs to meet the needs of their own families.
It takes great skill to support the development of children you're caring for from infancy all the way through preschool. The work is critically important. Many workers remain in the profession despite the low pay because they are motivated by the mission. We know from decades of research there are many ways to help these professionals provide high-quality care—for example, support and guidance from mentors, coaches, and supervisors to enhance competencies; making sure the settings they work in are adequately resourced; and building in continuous learning and quality improvement mechanisms. However, it is critical to remember that such supports will be most effective when broader systems are structured to meet workforce needs. This includes addressing the systemic inequalities and racism that can stand in the way of opportunities for Black, Latina, Indigenous and other people of color.
A great deal could be done to strengthen the child care and early education sector and to support its dedicated workforce. Many communities don’t have enough slots to meet the needs and preferences of families. In the absence of programs like Head Start or child care subsidies, available services are often unaffordable. Insufficient pay continues to challenge the sector’s ability to hire and retain talent, which is crucial for delivering high-quality care. Nonetheless, over the course of my career, I’ve been encouraged that understanding is growing among the general public about the important role high-quality early care and education can play in the lives of children and families. Continued progress toward universal pre-K in some states is but one sign of a broader appreciation for early childhood programs.
I’m proud of the way evidence has contributed to that progress. Over time, many studies, including some from Mathematica, have shown how valuable these programs can be for children and families and are helping policymakers and programs continue planning for high-quality services. FACES is a great example. We develop many resources based on the data collected that can be used by the Office of Head Start, technical assistance staff, program staff, researchers, and so many others to inform their work. OPRE recently produced a series of videos showing how these groups use data from American Indian and Alaska Native FACES.
When I look to the future—and how evidence can further help children and families—I think about connecting evidence to the needs and preferences of specific communities. There is more to learn about adapting programs with evidence of effectiveness to align with priorities identified by local communities, and how to then install and implement those programs effectively. This process is also connected to democratization of data. With the right infrastructure in place, communities can gather and use their own data alongside other evidence to make decisions about how to improve programs.
One of the great lessons of my time at Mathematica is that research is best done as a collaboration among those with diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise. We should always be asking for help, because that collaboration is what gets us to evidence with the greatest value for children and families.
