Systems Building Resource Guide
The Early Childhood Systems Building Resource Guide is a series of chapters designed to support early care and education leaders including Child Care and Development Fund Lead Agency Administrators, staff, and implementing partners in their pursuit of systems-building initiatives. The chapters provide practical examples, links to key resources, and methods of breaking down systems-building concepts into actionable steps to implement and sustain effective early childhood systems.
New chapters are added periodically, and existing chapters are continually revised to ensure content is relevant and examples are recent.
How to Use the Guide
The chapters within the Early Childhood Systems Building Resource Guide can be read in any order. For those newer to early childhood systems, the "Understanding Systems Building" chapter provides a good launching point into the topic. Readers can explore a chapter at a time and then return to other topics as the need arises.
Understanding Systems Building
This chapter features terms, methods, and implementation recommendations for building early childhood systems.
Capacity Building Self-Assessment Tool
This chapter offers a method for agencies to assess their capacity to improve early childhood systems.
Equity
This chapter provides a systems approach to advancing equity within early childhood programs.
Financing Strategically
This chapter provides an overview of key concepts that link state financing options and systems.
Governance
This chapter discusses applying an overarching systems approach to governing early childhood programs.
Leadership
This chapter provides key ideas, principles, competencies, and dimensions of adaptive leadership through a framework.
Partner Communications
This chapter shares the importance of communication plans and the value of communicating and engaging with partners.
Program Design and Implementation
This chapter helps state leaders and their partners plan and implement early care and education programs.
Program Evaluation and Continuous Quality Improvement
This chapter explains evaluation and CQI approaches and practices for early childhood leaders.
Project Management
This chapter addresses project management approaches to early childhood systems building.
Strategic Plans
This chapter discusses the elements of a strategic plan and outlines topics such as selecting partners and implementation timing.
Strategic Relationships
This chapter shares the value of strategic relationships and how to start and maintain them.
Sustaining Gains
This chapter addresses sustainability and systems building. Topics covered are sustainability planning, implementation, and timelines.
