Morrison Institute for Public Policy Publications Archives

This year, Arizona Directions assesses the health of both ends of the P-20 spectrum: early childcare and education and the high school /postsecondary-to-industry nexus. Both are viewed through the lens of Arizona’s current competitive position and its trajectory through the broader economic landscape. How well does Arizona regulate, promote and ensure equitable access to quality early childcare and to programs that help children enter Kindergarten ready to learn? Does Arizona’s production of graduates and skilled workers align with current and projected industry needs? In other words, are we setting our children up to succeed in the new global economy? At the same time, are we creating a talent pool that will help Arizona stand out as the place to start and grow a business? Arizona Directions’ data-driven approach enables Arizonans to step back and examine the evidence without the distraction of clashing political rhetoric. The report is designed to create a common reference point for civil discourse and post-partisan, collaborative approaches to improving Arizona’s competitiveness. Still, the data are merely the kindling. Many minds are needed to stoke the fire and convert its energy into real-world results.

This is the fourth in a series of briefs in which Morrison Institute for Public Policy will report on selected aspects of Arizona’s child welfare system. Morrison Institute’s first white paper discussed the less visible but more common side of child maltreatment: neglect. The second white paper examined family conditions that can influence a family’s subtle “drift” towards unsafe situations that often correlate with neglect, as well as how different types of prevention might help interrupt the “drift into failure.” The third paper analyzed Arizona Department of Child Safety data to identify the prevalence of various types of neglect in Arizona reports. This paper highlights some key conclusions from the neglect analysis and identifies future areas for study and analysis as part of the Spotlight on Arizona’s Kids project. Future papers will research, analyze and discuss prevention services in Arizona and elsewhere, with an emphasis on best practices. These collective efforts are intended to help state leaders, child advocates and others discuss and identify the most-effective child abuse and neglect prevention strategies. Spotlight on Arizona’s Kids is funded by the Arizona Community Foundation

Phoenix Early Head Start (EHS) is a program for first-time teen parents and their families. It is a family-centered program intended to provide early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services for vulnerable families and their very young children. This report presents case studies of 12 families, all EHS participants, who agreed to be followed throughout their participation in the program so that their stories could be updated as they unfolded from one year to the next. The case study families were interviewed for the first time in August 1997 and again in August 1998. Common themes in the family's stories regarding EHS's role include: (1) assistance from caring staff; (2) reassurance from home visits and child development; (3) help in becoming good parents; (4) help with personal goals; (5) help with daily life; and (6) socialization opportunities for children and parents.

The Phoenix, Arizona, Early Head Start (EHS) program is for first-time teen parents and their families. The end of 1999-2000 marked the fifth and final year of a research and demonstration grant for EHS and concluded the fourth full year of program implementation. This report provides a five-year perspective on program process and outcomes for children, families, staff, and the community. The report also examines the program's community linkages and efforts to build community capacity to serve very young children and their families. Evaluation findings reveal that at the end of 5 years, Phoenix Early Head Start remains "on track." Program parents and children received support through a wide array of services; a range of community linkages and partnerships have helped expand resources and options for families; and much has been learned about how to train staff who work with children from birth through age 3 and their families.

Recommendations for the program included adopting a child development instrument to determine program effects on children, allocating resources to address employment/training issues for program parents, taking action to retain staff, maintaining an intensive staff training agenda in child development at all program levels, and disseminating information on the program's experiences. The report's four appendices include details on the continuous improvement evaluation plan, evaluation methodology, and a summary of data collection instruments and methodological notes. (Contains 52 references.)

Amidst the numbers and statistics that comprise a program evaluation, it is easy to lose sight of the program participants themselves. That is one rationale for a case study--to tap into some of the rich background information that only participants can provide. To develop some of this background information for the five-year program evaluation of Phoenix Early Head Start(EHS), a case study was undertaken of 12 families who were representative of all EHS program participants. Each of the 12 families agreed to be followed throughout their participation in the program so that their "stories" can be updated as they unfold from one year to the next.

The Phoenix Early Head Start (EHS) program is a family-centered program intended to provide early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services for first-time teen parents and their very young children. This report presents case studies of 12 families, all EHS participants, who agreed to be followed throughout their participation in the program so that their stories could be updated as they unfolded from one year to the next. The case study families were interviewed in August of 1997, 1998, and 1999. Four of the families had participated in the first two interviews but had withdrawn prior to the third interview. Additional information was obtained through conversations with family support specialists in May 2000. Common themes in the families' stories regarding EHS's role include: (1) assistance from caring staff; (2) reassurance from home visits and child development; (3) help in becoming good parents; (4) help with personal goals; (5) help with daily life; and (6) socialization opportunities for children and parents. During the study, most families made progress to widely differing degrees. Although somewhat apprehensive about life without the safety net of EHS, all eight families seemed much more confident than earlier, had some knowledge and understanding of their children and themselves, and had articulated and taken some steps toward achieving personal and family goals.

The Arizona Head Start--Public School Transition Project is 1 of 31 demonstration projects designed to test whether advances by Head Start children could be maintained by continuing Head Start-type services into kindergarten through the third grade, and to identify, develop, and implement transition practices to bridge the gap between Head Start and public schools. This study evaluated the Arizona project in its fourth year of implementation. Participating were two cohorts of students at three transition and three comparison schools in Phoenix. The program components evaluated were: (1) developmentally appropriate practices, curriculum, and materials; (2) physical health, mental health, and dental services; (3) family services; and (4) parent involvement. Findings indicated that all components had been implemented by the time of the 1995-96 evaluation. Both cohorts had similar public assistance participation, and all groups showed dramatic decreases in public assistance since program entry. The vast majority of parents from all groups reported positive interactions with schools; qualitative data confirmed continuing positive impact on teachers, schools, and the Head Start agency. Transition services, especially those of family advocates, were seen as crucial to smooth transitions. There were observable differences between transition and comparison classrooms; however, quantitative data showed few significant differences in gains made by children between transition and comparison classrooms. Confounding variables of high attrition, variations in student English proficiency, and the existence in comparison schools of transition-like services may have influenced the results. Promising practices and further challenges were identified and recommendations were made for improving the collaboration between the Head Start program and the public schools, and improving the evaluation process. (Three appendices include a summary of data collection instruments. Contains 20 references.)