The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) is conducting a statewide needs assessment and strategic plan to support increased quality of and access to early learning services in the state. DECAL has hired 3Si to answer key research questions, facilitate strategic planning, and help DECAL refine its strategic plans based on the findings and analyses of this engagement.
Specifically, 3Si is estimating birth-to-five program costs and funding on a per child, per provider, and statewide basis, under various conditions. Data to inform these estimates include information that already exists within DECAL data systems as well as new findings identified during the needs assessment. 3Si will also support the refinement of DECAL’s statewide strategic plan by providing nuanced cost-benefit and funding models, research, and other tools that streamline and simplify the evaluation of policy decisions.
Key research questions include determining the cost of reaching and maintaining higher levels of early childhood education program quality; how demographics and participation rates of Georgia’s birth-to-five population relate to costs; how costs vary by Quality Rated star level and student age groups; and other critical strategic elements of DECAL’s statewide strategic plan.