Early learning services can positively impact how underserved children fare in school and life. Recognizing this, officials in Minnesota have sharpened their capacity to identify service gaps and needs by launching the Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS). This innovative information sharing system integrates state data on education, health, and social services.

In Minnesota, conditions for launching ECLDS were ideal, according to Cindy Guy, vice president for Research, Evaluation, Evidence, and Data for the Foundation.

Minnesota had an accessible website and a well-developed and integrated early childhood data system with agreements between agencies already in place.

While Minnesota has invested millions of dollars in a variety of early learning and child care programs, these efforts were difficult to track pre-ECLDS. Different state agencies administer different programs, and these agencies do not share data or track outcomes in a uniform way.

Read the full article on early childhood education data at The Annie E. Casey Foundation