Projects » Early Childhood Education

Philliber Research Associates has been involved in a variety of early childhood initiatives:

The Brighter Futures Initiative seeks to increase school readiness and school success among children in Hartford, Connecticut. In 2000, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving committed fifteen million dollars over ten years to finance projects and system-wide reform efforts that support young children and their families. Philliber Research Associates began an on-going evaluation in 2001, starting with a comprehensive search to find appropriate measurement tools to assess growth and development.

The Child Care Enhancement Project was conducted by the Brighter Future Initiative from 2002 to 2006. The purpose of this project was to increase school readiness by improving the quality of center-based child care. A dozen centers were provided training and support to implement a curriculum, increase the training of staff, and upgrade facilities. In addition, eight City of Hartford Early Learning Centers also received support. Philliber Research Associates trained and supervised paraprofessionals to assess the cognitive/language, motor, and self-help/social skills of children in these centers.

Evaluation of Early Childhood Education Curricula on Family Support Principles (Parent Services Project). The formative evaluation of two early childhood education (ECE) courses offered through San Francisco City College. One course focused on training ECE professionals in issues surrounding providing optimum services to Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/ Transgender (LGBT) parents and their children. The other course, Stronger Together, prepares ECE professionals to fully incorporate family support principles in their work.The objective of these evaluations was to measure effectiveness and to provide feedback for curriculum improvement leading to national replication. PSP has recently been funded by Kellogg Foundation to replicate this course in three additional cities and PRA will conduct the evaluation of this replication effort.

Evaluation of the San Francisco County Family Preservation/Family Support Programs (City & County of San Francisco, Department of Human Services) This community-based evaluation model was planned and implemented for five neighborhood Family Resource Centers (FRC) in San Francisco. Common measures were developed to track all service delivery as well as outcomes for intensively served clients. In addition to common measure, customized forms were developed for each FRC to track outcomes specific to that site. Domains measured included parenting skills, family functioning, social support and self-sufficiency on basic needs.

The Harlem Children's Zone works to create significant, positive opportunities and outcomes for children living in a 24-block area of Central Harlem by helping parents, residents, teachers, and other key stakeholders create a safe learning environment for youth. The Initiative, which began in 1997, supports children's intellectual, emotional, and physical growth from the time their parents are pregnant until the children enter college or the labor force. Philliber Research Associates has evaluated the Harlem Children's Zone since its inception supported by the Robin Hood Foundation. The programs and related evaluation efforts include: Baby College, Harlem Gems, and The Family Support Center

The Hartford School Readiness Study was conducted in 2003 for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and Hartford Public Schools. Entering kindergarten students were randomly selected from each of the elementary schools in Hartford. Assessments were obtained from 559 kindergarten students and interviews were collected from each of their parents. The information was analyzed to assess the level of school readiness among entering kindergartners and to indentify factors that influence that readiness.

KidsHealth 2020 is a project in Cleveland, OH, serving children aged 0 to 10. The project is designing healthy playgrounds, offering a variety of parenting workshops, using play as a strategy for child development and seeking to improve the quality of child care in the Mt. Pleasant community. The neighborhood does not lack for child care but most of it is in unlicensed homes and staffed by untrained caregivers. KidsHealth is also running as asthma screening program in two neighborhood elementary schools and is beginning a new initiative on obesity among young children. PRA is helping KidsHealth finalize its action plan but also recently completed a second survey of residents in the community.

The Marin Child Care Outcomes Project is an Initiative of the Marin Community Foundation. Philliber Research Associates has evaluated the Initiative since 1997.The Marin Community Foundation supports six agencies providing child care to low income residents in Marin County, California, and one agency providing child care subsidies. Philliber Research Associates worked with the grantees to develop a common process and outcome evaluation system. Seven dimensions of family functioning grouped into three domains are assessed at enrollment and again at annual intervals. Four dimensions of child development are also assessed at the same time. Changes in assessment are tracked to document improvements.

Pacoima Community Engagement Process (Los Angeles Urban Funders). This recently completed project was a five year study to assist the community of Pacoima, CA in their planning and implementation of service delivery. In year one, PRA designed data collection instruments with input from community stakeholders. Over 14,000 addresses in Pacoima were mapped, from which a random sample of 360 businesses and 1210 households were randomly selected to be surveyed. The mapping and door to door surveying were done by a community residents hired and trained by PRA staff. PRA calls this type of empowerment evaluation, the Community Engagement Process (CEP). All questionnaires were available in English and Spanish, and most of the interviewers were bilingual in English and Spanish. Results were used to guide program planning. PRA conducted these CEPs annually until 2005. Each spring, user-friendly reports were created and distributed for widespread use to stakeholders and the community.