Author: Kirby Chow

Balancing Priorities: Foster Parents’ Child Care Search and Selection Process

Post author Nancy Perez, Todd Grindal, Kirby Chow, Sheila Smith, Nicola Connors Edge, Maribel Granja
Project Improving Participation of Children in Foster Care in Stable, High Quality Early Care and Education;
Publication Type Fact Sheet
Post date March 21, 2025

The Arkansas Office of Early Childhood is collaborating with SRI International, the National Center for Children in Poverty, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to learn about the supply, quality, and stability of early care and education (ECE) for children in foster care, as well as the facilitators and barriers to children in […]

Early Care and Education Is an Essential Component of the Foster Care System: A View From Arkansas

Post author Todd Grindal, Sheila Smith, Kirby Chow, Nicola Connors Edge, Nancy Perez, Maribel R. Granja
Project Improving Participation of Children in Foster Care in Stable, High Quality Early Care and Education;
Publication Type Fact Sheet
Post date March 21, 2025

Improving Participation of Children in Foster Care in Stable, High-Quality Early Care and Education: Administrative Data Findings (Conference poster)

Post author Todd Grindal, Nancy Perez, Kirby Chow, Sheila Smith, Nicola Connors Edge
Project Improving Participation of Children in Foster Care in Stable, High Quality Early Care and Education;
Publication Type
Post date June 21, 2024

This conference poster presents findings from an analysis of Arkansas’s administrative data. We compare the quality, stability, and accessibility of subsidized early care and education (ECE) for young children in foster care using Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers to ECE for all other Arkansas children using CCDF vouchers. We also examine the landscape […]

Improving Participation in High-Quality Early Care and Education for Young Arkansas Children: Perspectives of Resource Parents and Early Childhood Educators

Post author Kirby Chow, Sheila Smith, Nancy Perez, Todd Grindal, Nicola Connors Edge, Maribel R. Granja
Project Improving Participation of Children in Foster Care in Stable, High Quality Early Care and Education;
Publication Type Report
Post date December 1, 2023

High-quality early care and education (ECE) provides a developmentally supportive environment for children in foster care that can help address early adversities, but recent studies have shown low levels of ECE participation among these children (Klein et al., 2016; Lee, 2020). To address this important issue, the Arkansas Office of Early Childhood (OEC) is collaborating […]

Early Childhood Education Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Experiences of Arkansas Educators

Post author Sheila Smith, Kirby Chow, Todd Grindal, Nancy Perez, Jennifer Nakamura, Maribel R. Granja
Project Arkansas’ Implementation of Suspension and Expulsion Reduction Policies (ARISE);
Publication Type Report
Post date May 25, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the experiences of young children and their caregivers over the past year. SRI Education and the National Center on Children in Poverty partnered with the Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) to examine early care and education programs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief, which represents the second of two reports, shares […]

How Early Childhood Education Providers Can Use COVID-19 Relief Funds to Establish Lasting Mental Health Supports for Staff and Children

Post author Kirby Chow, Sheila Smith, Todd Grindal, Maribel R. Granja, Jennifer Nakamura
Project Arkansas’ Implementation of Suspension and Expulsion Reduction Policies (ARISE);
Publication Type Blog
Post date May 11, 2021

After more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many young children have experienced disruptions to their daily routines, missed seeing family and friends, mourned the death of loved ones, or felt the strain and uncertainty of economic difficulties. These disruptions and trauma can have lasting effects to children’s social and emotional development and contribute […]