POLICY BRIEF - The Importance of High Quality Early Care and Education for the Future of Delaware’s Children and Families - Suggestions for Policy Initiatives

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

Policy brief analyzing why high-quality early care and education are essential for young children and their families in Delaware. It explains how the first five years shape learning and development through responsive caregiving, enriched interactions, and supportive routines. It discusses risks for children facing poverty, abuse, neglect, and trauma, including language delays linked to the “word gap.” It reviews Delaware’s current early care and education landscape and argues that investment in birth-to-five programs can yield stronger long-term returns than preschool alone, concluding with policy initiative suggestions to expand access and improve quality.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

The Importance of High Quality Early Care and Education

The Importance of the First Five Years of Life

The State of Early Care and Education in Delaware

POLICY BRIEF The Importance of High Quality Early Care and Education for the Future of Delaware’s Children and Families Rena Hallam Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware Associate Director, Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood Martha Buell Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Delaware Director, Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood Heidi Beck Director, New Directions Early Head Start This policy brief describes the importance of providing high quality early care and education programs for young children and their families. The need for early childhood services in Delaware is discussed relative to the array of early childhood care and education programs offered. The University of Delaware’s statewide efforts to improve the access and quality of early care and education programs for all families are presented. The brief concludes with suggestions for policy initiatives that can further support this work. The Importance of the First Five Years of Life The first five years of a child’s life are a uniquely important period of learning and development. Throughout this time, young children develop the foundational skills necessary to be academically and socially successful in school and beyond. Research shows that during this time of rapid growth, children’s development is greatly influenced by their environment and the interactions they have with their caregivers (National Research Council, 2000) . In fact, babies’ early experiences actually shape the architecture of their brains. Responsive care and enriching interactions between very young children and their caregivers helps to build a solid foundation for learning and development (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2007) . Simple daily interactions and routines during the infant and toddler period are important opportunities for caregivers and parents to communicate with children. Most importantly caregivers must be in tune with babies and respond to their physical and emotional needs with care and sensitivity. Through responsive high quality care, babies develop the foundations of emotional regulation. Language enriched activities such as exploring books, singing songs and hearing descriptions of the world around them are essential to building communication, language, and cognitive skills that serve as the foundation for later learning. As children grow into preschoolers, they develop vital skills in literacy, motor development, and social relationships. However, young children who do not receive high quality caregiving during the first years of life fall behind those that do. Young children who face challenges, such as the chaotic home environments caused by poverty, abuse and neglect, or other types of trauma are negatively impacted by these experiences and as such these negative experiences can influence all aspects of learning and development, including problem solving ability, language learning and social skills (National Research Council, 2000) . For instance, young children growing up in poverty may [udel.edu/ppe](udel.edu/ppe | ppe-info@udel.edu |)[ |](udel.edu/ppe | ppe-info@udel.edu |)[ ppe-info@udel.edu](udel.edu/ppe | ppe-info@udel.edu |)[ |](udel.edu/ppe | ppe-info@udel.edu |) @UDPPE have language delays attributable to the word gap: The difference in the number of words a child living in poverty hears compared to child from an affluent family. The word gap ranges from 4 million to 30 million words by the time a child reaches kindergarten (Sperry, Sperry & Miller, 2018) . Early care and education programs offer an opportunity to intervene and support all children, and particularly those most at-risk of later difficulties in school and social relationships. Research shows that high quality early childhood education can serve as a buffer for those young children in the most challenging situations (Center on the Develo

FAQs

Why are the first five years of life emphasized in the policy brief?

They are presented as a uniquely important period for learning and development, when responsive caregiving and enriched interactions build foundational skills for later academic and social success.

What challenges does the brief highlight for children who do not receive high-quality care early?

It describes negative impacts linked to poverty, abuse, neglect, and trauma, including learning and language difficulties such as delays related to the “word gap.”

How does the brief evaluate Delaware’s early care and education system?

It explains that Delaware families rely on early childhood programs for work support and notes that licensing has traditionally focused on health and safety, while program quality varies and not all children access high-quality care.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel