Charline Ganthier-Cine

This strategic plan outlines Delaware's comprehensive approach to establishing an equitable and inclusive early childhood system for children from birth through age five. Key pillars include fostering developmentally appropriate, evidence-based practices among professionals and families, expanding choices for high-quality care, and ensuring a well-compensated and certified early childhood workforce. The plan details significant state investments in governance, data systems, program quality, professional development, and family support, alongside initiatives to expand access to holistic care, develop new operational models, and innovate payment structures. The overarching goal is to position Delaware as a leading state for raising children.

The meeting of the Interagency Resource Management Committee (IRMC) focused on strategic planning for the FY26 Early Childhood System. Discussions included reviewing the charge of IRMC to anchor in a shared purpose, Delaware's current state, a potential road map forward, and examples of success from other states. The committee also discussed achieving Early Childhood Education (ECE) as a Public Good in Delaware, the PDG Grant Funding Opportunity, and next steps. The IRMC report will offer a big-picture, long-term vision for Delaware's early childhood system, including a vision of early childhood as a public good, a statement of facts about the current system, a description of what would need to be added to the system to achieve the public good definition, and a roadmap for 2026.

The Interagency Resource Management Committee (IRMC) meeting focused on early childhood system strategic planning. Key discussion points included defining early childhood education as a public good in Delaware, reviewing a draft early childhood public good statement, and discussing successes and opportunities in Delaware's current Early Childhood Education (ECE) landscape. The meeting also covered the purpose and charge of the IRMC, which includes establishing a vision for Delaware's birth-to-5 system and developing recommendations for achieving that vision. Additional topics included a glossary of terms for Delaware's ECE work and the current state of early childhood systems, with an emphasis on access, funding sources, and the mixed delivery system.

This document outlines the strategic planning efforts for Delaware's Early Childhood System, aiming to develop a comprehensive vision and actionable recommendations for the Governor and General Assembly. The core objective is to establish early childhood care and education as a public good, ensuring every child from birth to age five has the opportunity to thrive. Key focus areas include creating a universal, publicly-subsidized mixed-delivery system that provides affordable, high-quality education, supporting working parents, and fostering safe, trauma-free environments. The plan emphasizes equity, quality, affordability, and access, with a roadmap for 2026 to achieve a thriving future and school readiness for all of Delaware's youngest learners.

The Interagency Resource Management Committee convened to align state government agencies in support of children from birth through age five, focusing on building a collective path forward rather than advancing individual agency priorities. The committee members shared their essential priorities, which included easing burdens on families and communities, breaking cycles of lack of access, focusing on educators, children, literacy, and meaningful interaction, balancing access versus quality, building tomorrow's workforce, using data on life outcomes to drive decisions, assessing what works currently, and improving and leveraging existing resources. Key themes discussed were equity, access and quality, affordability, delivery, supply building, and professionalization. The committee discussed the action plan for short-term and long-term actions, including building on existing federal/state plans, expanding supply, strengthening the workforce registry, universal family pilots, stronger data systems, nontraditional care for infants/toddlers, and a holistic 0-5 approach. Agencies and members shared commitments to explore workforce recruitment/retention supports, expand access through diverse delivery options, improve cultural competence in early education programs, leverage existing funding streams more effectively, and connect data systems to measure and monitor progress.