Smart Start and Preschool Child Care Quality in NC: Change Over Time and Relation to School Readiness
March 2003

click here: PDF format, 478KB, 21 pages

This report has three main findings: Child care quality has increased in the study sample during the Smart Start years; Smart Start-funded activities were positively related to classroom quality; and quality was positively related to children's outcomes.

Demonstrating Effective Child Care Quality Improvement
September 2002

click here: PDF format, 478KB, 57 pages

This report describes the strategies and activities that 12 highly successful Smart Start partnerships have used to significantly improve the number of high-quality child care programs in their county or region.

Smart Start Effectiveness for Young Children and Their Families in North Carolina
June 2002

click here: PDF format, 151KB, 6 pages

In its 2002 Annual Evaluation Report, The Smart Start Evaluation Team concludes that Smart Start's goals of better child care, improved well-being of families, and greater health resources are being achieved, but North Carolina must continue to focus on quality improvement.

Smart Start and Child Care in North Carolina: Effects on Quality and Changes over Time
full report (May 2002)

click here: PDF format, 483KB, 34 pages

This study examined the effects of Smart Start on the quality of child care over time in North Carolina. Results from 3 waves of data collection (in 1994, 1996, and 1999) show that child care quality has increased over time, and participation in Smart Start is a factor.

Reaching Out to All Children: Summary of Efforts by Local Smart Start Partnerships to Locate Children Aged 0-5 Who Are Not in Regulated Child Care
full report (Fall 2001)

click here: PDF format, 835KB, 20 pages

The purpose of this study was to find out how local Smart Start partnerships are addressing the needs of children 0-5 who are not participating in regulated child care, preschool or Head Start programs. The report details how many and what type of strategies partnerships use.

The Effect of Smart Start Health Interventions on Children's Health and Access to Care
full report (October 2001)

click here: PDF format, 1.3 MB, 30 pages

This report documents the range of health-related activities being supported by local Smart Start partnerships. Most importantly, the study documents that children participating in a Smart Start-supported health service were significantly more likely to have had a DPT immunization.

Collaboration: a Smart Start Success
brochure (June 2001)

click here: PDF format, 44K, 6 pages

This report summarizes the findings of a multi-year study of the impact Smart Start has had on local interagency collaboration and the performance of local networks of service providers that serve young children. The study found that Smart Start Partnerships are improving the performance and coordination of the agencies that serve young children.

Validating North Carolina's 5-Star Child Care Licensing System
brochure (February 2001)

click here: PDF format, 23K, 2 pages

Independently gathered data from 84 child care centers validates North Carolina's new 5-star child care licensing system. Using data collected as part of the Smart Start evaluation, a significant relationship was found between the star rating level of a center and several other indicators of program quality. Parents and policymakers should be assured that centers with higher star ratings are indeed providing a higher quality of care for young children.

Building Trust, Developing Community: Lessons from North Carolina's Smart Start Initiative
December 2000

click here: PDF format, 721K, 61 pages

This paper was written as a resource for those seeking to better understand the decision-making process within community-based organizations. Through interviews with key people in five local Smart Start partnerships, researchers share components that most heavily influenced decision-making, including key factors in local decision-making, challenges faced by the partnership, and lessons learned.

The Effect of Smart Start Child Care on Children's Access to Health Care
brochure (September 8, 2000)

click here: PDF format, 1.11 MB, 2 pages

This brief report presents findings of the impact of Smart Start on children's health.

Family Child Care in North Carolina
brochure (August 2000)

click here: PDF format, 123 KB, 4 pages

This intention of this study was to learn more about the quality of family child care homes in North Carolina and the relationship between quality of care and involvement in Smart Start quality improvement efforts.

full report (August 2000)

click here: PDF format, 1.1 MB, 25 pages

Smart Start Collaboration Analysis Report
June 2000

click here: PDF format, 1.248B, 27 pages

Smart Start and Quality Inclusive Child Care in North Carolina
(May 2000)

This study looked at the quality of community child care centers serving children with disabilities. The study found that, during the past 5 years, the proportion of child care centers enrolling children with disabilities increased from 40 percent to 59 percent. The study also found that child care centers now receive more Smart Start money to improve services for children with disabilities than five years ago. Parents and professionals who took part in the study reported several benefits of quality child care in centers serving both children with and without disabilities.

click here: PDF format, 285KB, 2 pages

A Six-County Study of the Effects of Smart Start Child Care on Kindergarten Entry Skills
(September 1999)

click here: PDF format, 423 KB, 40 pages

Smart Start and Local Inter-Organizational Collaboration
(August 1998)

This report presents data about the effectiveness of the Smart Start initiative on improving collaborative relationships. Qualitative and quantitative data were obtained from 269 respondents in 10 local partnerships.

Effect of a Smart Start Playground Improvement Grant on Child Care Playground Hazards
(August 1998)

click here: PDF format, 697 KB, 28 pages

This report presents results from a comparison of the playground safety of child care playgrounds in a county that used Smart Start funds for playground improvement compared to a non-Smart Start county.

The Effects of Smart Start Child Care on Kindergarten Entry Skills
(June 1998)

click here: HTML format, approx. 8 pages

This report presents results of kindergarten entry skills ratings from kindergartners who attended Smart Start-funded child care centers compared to a random group of kindergartners who attended a broad range of child care or no child care.

Child Care in the Pioneer Partnerships 1994 and 1996
(December 1997)

click here: HTML format, approx. 36 printed pages

This report presents more detailed information about child care centers that were included in The Effects of Smart Start on the Quality of Child Care (April 1997).

click here: HTML format, approx. 13 pages

This report presents findings from a study of the feasibility of creating a system to count uniquely all children and families served by Smart Start.

Families & the North Carolina Smart Start Initiative
(December 1997)

click here: PDF format, 2.9 MB, 30 pages

This report presents findings from family interviews of families who participated in Smart Start in the pioneer counties. The interviews included questions about child care, health services, family activities with children, and community services and involvement.

Bringing the Local Community into the Process: Issues and Promising Practices for Involving Parents and Business in Local Smart Start Partnerships
(April 1997)

click here: PDF format, 4.4 MB, 19 pages

This report describes findings from interviews and case studies about the involvement of parents and business leaders in the Smart Start decision-making process.

Effects of Smart Start on Young Children with Disabilities and their Families
(December 1996)

click here: PDF format, 8.2 MB, 83 pages

This report summarizes a study of the impact of Smart Start on children with disabilities.

Reinventing Government? Perspectives on the Smart Start Implementation Process
(November 1995)

click here: HTML format, approx. 22 pages

This report documents pioneer partnership members' perspectives on 2 major process goals of Smart Start: non-bureaucratic decision making and broad-based participation.

Keeping the Vision in Front of You: Results from Smart Start Key Participant Interviews
(May 1995)

click here: HTML format, approx. 29 pages

This report documents the process as pioneer partnerships completed their planning year and moved into implementation.

Emerging Themes and Lessons Learned: The First Year of Smart Start
(August 1994)

click here: HTML format, approx. 21 pages

This report describes the first-year planning process of the pioneer partnerships and makes some recommendations for improving the process.

Early Reports, available in printed form only

Kindergartners' Skills in Smart Start Counties in 1995: A Baseline From Which to Measure Change
(July 1997)

This report presents baseline findings of kindergartners' skills in the 43 Smart Start counties.

This report summarizes evaluation findings related to each of the four major Smart Start goals.

This report presents the results of a 2-year study of the quality of child care in the 12 pioneer partnerships.

This report summarizes the evaluation findings to date from both quantitative and qualitative data sources.

This report describes our comprehensive evaluation plan, designed to capture the breadth of programs implemented across the Smart Start partnerships and the extent of possible changes that might result from Smart Start efforts.