1.

Family Empowerment, Knowledge, and Choice

Families must be supported as their child’s first teacher, have what they need to make informed decisions, and be able to access services where they live and work. Wyoming has the opportunity to build on ongoing efforts to further communicate the importance of a child’s first 5 years of life and the impact that a child’s early development can have on their future success.

Awareness-building efforts should incorporate the latest research and guidance, including developmental milestones and suggested activities for families to support the healthy growth and development of their young children. A centralized and comprehensive ECE and birth through 5 (B-5) information source would both allow families to access information about available services and strengthen the ability of ECE and B-5 service providers to make referrals. This focus area will build upon ongoing efforts to communicate about the importance of a child’s first 5 years of life and the impact that a child’s early development can have on their future.

3.

Transitions

Children and their families experience many formal and informal transitions throughout a child’s first 5 years of life, which have an impact on development and learning. These transitions may include a new child care or preschool teacher, changing ECE programs, beginning kindergarten, moving to a new house, the arrival of a sibling, and more. There is an essential need to support young children and families during times of transition, and schools and communities must respond with greater intention to ensure children’s success. This focus area builds off of the recently established Transitions Task Force and outlines comprehensive supports for families to navigate transitions and to build their resilience and ability to navigate future transitions.

4.

Early Childhood Education Quality

Advancing child outcomes relies on a well-articulated path to quality. There is clear evidence demonstrating the positive impacts that high quality ECE experiences during a child’s first 5 years of life can have on their long term success. There are a number of systems and frameworks that support the quality of ECE programs in Wyoming including, accreditation processes, the state’s child care licensing requirements, Head Start requirements and guidelines, and the statewide Early Learning Guidelines (ELGs, about children B-2) and Foundations (ELFs, about children 3-5). The Wyoming Quality Learning Network was convened in 2020 to develop a vision for ECE quality for the state. This focus area will implement the resulting resource document, Coherent Path to Quality (CP2Q): Creating a Shared Vision to Ensure High Quality Learning for Wyoming’s Children, to promote continuity and consistency of relationships, environments, and experiences for all children in the state.

6.

Governance, Systems, and Data

Communities must be empowered and supported by the state to create the necessary conditions for families and children to thrive. At the state level, Wyoming has considerable opportunity to strengthen the coordination and alignment of programs supporting young children and their families. The Early Childhood Governance Task Force was appointed in 2020 to recommend an early childhood governance structure for the state. This focus area will build on the ongoing work of the Task Force to maximize opportunities for coordination, alignment, and funding to provide the best possible services and support for families, educators, and communities.