Policy Brief - Equitable and Accessible Early Learning and Care in California Starts with an Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS)

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

This policy brief examines how California’s early learning and care system is shaped by the pandemic and highlights persistent opportunity gaps for young learners, especially children of color, those in low-income communities, and dual-language learners. It argues that limited coordinated data prevents understanding how the system serves children, families, and the workforce. The brief describes California’s investments in transitional kindergarten and the Cradle-to-Career data system, then recommends building a comprehensive Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) to enable integrated, publicly accessible data.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

ECIDS Policy Brief Overview

Early learning and care needs integrated data

California investments in transitional kindergarten and childcare

Cradle-to-Career data system and ECIDS role

Recommendations for coordinated cross-agency design

Policy Brief: Equitable and Accessible Early Learning and Care in California Starts with an Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) In the first five years of life, 90% of a child’s brain is developed, and their experiences during this time shape their ability to learn and to be successful throughout life.1 The pandemic uniquely affected the early learning and care system. It brought into focus the essential role that system plays in California’s economic infrastructure while widening the opportunity gap for our youngest learners of color, those living in low-income communities, and dual-language learners. Yet, because of a lack of coordinated, actionable data, we are unable to fully understand how California’s early learning and care system responds to the experiences of young children, their families, and the workforce who cares for them—information all-themore necessary as we work to recover from this unprecedented time. In support of Governor Newsom’s vision for the universal expansion of transitional kindergarten (TK), California outlined a plan of historic investments in the 2021- 22 state budget to invest $600 million in TK in 2022-23, growing to $2.7 billion and full implementation of TK in 2025-26.2 In the 2022-23 state budget, more than $900 million was invested to fund the continued expansion of TK and to reduce student-to-adult ratios, as the state continues on the path to universal access for all 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 school year. Additionally, state investments in childcare for 2021-22 exceeded $612 million, whereas 2022-23 saw $161.5 million in investments.3 Federal funding from the Child Care and Development Block Grant was also a significant funding source for stabilizing the child care sector during the pandemic.4 These investments recognize the long-term social benefits of highquality early learning and care. However, we must have complete, integrated, and publicly available data to inform how well we are doing in serving our youngest learners while also ensuring access and equity to those furthest from opportunity. As California invests in early learning and care, the state is also moving forward with a long overdue plan to build a statewide longitudinal data system (SLDS)—known as the Cradle-to Career (C2C) Data System—which will eventually connect data over time and across sectors like education, health, human services, and the workforce.5 This is a significant milestone that will allow California to identify inequities and roadblocks to success while also recognizing where things are going well, especially for children of color, those living in poverty, children with disabilities, and dual-language learners. However, California’s early learning and care system has shortcomings in the way data is collected, managed, and used that present challenges in accessing and integrating data from the “Cradle” side of the C2C Data System. With myriad state and federally-funded programs, there is a pressing need for a data-informed understanding of how families and communities use or benefit from early learning and care systems, including TK. Left unaddressed, the limitations in the current approach to early learning data could undermine the proposed full inclusion and linkage of early learning data to the C2C Data System, as well as our ability to monitor the implementation of expanded TK and the California Department of Education’s (CDE) efforts toward P-3 alignment. In this policy brief, we provide an overview of the current early learning and care data landscape in California, describe three key shortcomings of that landscape, and make recommendations for a coordinated, cross-agency effort to design a comprehensive Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS) . A fully operational ECIDS will also provide the foundation necessary for stronger “Cradle” data that is an essential component of a robust C2C Data System. 2 | Policy Brief: Equitable and Accessible Early Learning and

FAQs

Why does California need an Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS)?

The brief explains that without coordinated, actionable data, California cannot fully understand how the early learning and care system responds to young children, families, and the workforce. An ECIDS would collect, integrate, maintain, store, and report information across agencies.

What does ECIDS enable in relation to California’s Cradle-to-Career (C2C) Data System?

ECIDS is described as foundational for stronger “Cradle” data that supports a robust C2C Data System. It would help link data over time and across sectors such as education, health, human services, and the workforce.

What shortcomings in early learning data does the brief identify?

The brief notes that data is collected, managed, and used in ways that make accessing and integrating data from the “Cradle” side challenging. It also highlights limits of the current approach that could undermine linking and monitoring of expanded transitional kindergarten.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor