Giving Compass' Take:

• Christina Veiga reports that the New York City education department is preparing to take over early childhood programs, creating questions. 

• How can early childhood education be improved in your area? What children need the most help accessing early childhood programs? 

• Learn more about the importance of early childhood care and education. 

The New York City education department is gearing up for a high-stakes takeover of publicly funded early childhood programs, and care providers have big questions about how they will fare in the transition.

More than 100 organizations have submitted responses to the city’s plans to shift responsibility of child care programs from the Administration for Children’s Services to the education department. How the city responds could have major implications for New York City’s early childhood plans, which have relied heavily on community-based centers to expand free pre-K to the city’s 3- and 4-year-olds.

Done well, the transition to education department oversight could help streamline a sometimes disjointed system and boost quality of care for New York’s youngest learners. But in an industry often marked by thin margins and high turnover, the city also runs the risk of unintentionally destabilizing existing programs.

“How is it all going to be brought together?” asked Lisa Caswell, a senior policy analyst for the Day Care Council of New York, which represents publicly funded, community-based child care centers across more than 200 sites.

The council was among those to submit a formal response to the city, pleading for more details about how the shift will occur and the implications for center budgets. The transition to the education department will be complete in 2020.

While the city has pledged to guarantee a portion of centers’ funding, the council asked for more concrete details about what will be covered.

Read the full article about NYC education department and early childhood programs by Christina Veiga at Chalkbeat.