Research: Core Indicators

· Child Indicators: Describe characteristics of children’s health and development.

· Family Indicators: Describe children’s family context and home environment.

· Community Indicators: Describe the county, city, town and/or neighborhood in which children live.

· Services Indicators: Describe the availability, quality and affordability of proven programs that influence child development and school readiness.

· School Indicators: Describe critical elements of the elementary school environment that influence child development and school success.

Core indicators to choose from:

· Ready Children

· Physical Well-Being and Motor Development: Percentage of children with age-appropriate fine motor skills.

· Social and Emotional Development: Percentage of children who often or very often exhibit positive social behaviors when interacting with their peers.

· Approaches to Learning: Percentage of kindergarten students with moderate to serious difficulty following directions.

· Language Development: Percentage of children almost always recognizing the relationships between letters and sounds at kindergarten entry.

· Cognition and General Knowledge: Percentage of children recognizing basic shapes at kindergarten entry.

· Ready Families

· Mother’s Education Level: Percentage of births to mothers with less than a 12th grade education.

· Births to Teens: Number of births to teens ages 15-17 per 1,000 girls.

· Child Abuse and Neglect: Rate of substantiated child abuse and neglect among children birth to age 6.

· Children in Foster Care: Percentage of children birth to age 6 in out-of-home placement (foster care) who have no more than two placements in a 24-month period.

· Ready Communities

· Young Children in Poverty: Percentage of children under age 6 living in families with income below the federal poverty threshold.

· Supports for Families with Infants and Toddlers: Percentage of infants and toddlers in poverty who are enrolled in Early Head Start.

· Lead Poisoning: Percentage of children under age 6 with blood lead levels at or above 10 micrograms per deciliter.

· Ready Services – Health

· Health Insurance: Percentage of children under age 6 without health insurance.

· Low Birth weight Infants: Percentage of infants born weighing under 2,500 grams (5.5 pounds).

· Access to Prenatal Care: Percentage of births to women who receive late or no prenatal care.

· Immunizations: Percentage of children ages 19-35 months who have been fully immunized.

· Ready Services – Early Care and Education

· Children Enrolled in an Early Education Program: Percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in a center-based early childhood care and education program (including child care centers, nursery schools, preschool programs, Head Start programs, and pre-kindergarten programs).

· Early Education Teacher Credentials: Percentage of early childhood teachers with a bachelor’s degree and specialized training in early childhood.

· Accredited Child Care Centers: Percentage of child care centers accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

· Accredited Family Child Care Homes: Percentage of family child care homes accredited by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).

· Access to Child Care Subsidies: Percentage of eligible children under age 6 receiving child care subsidies

· Ready Schools

· Class Size: Average teacher/child ratio in K-1 classrooms.

Fourth Grade Reading Scores: Percentage of children with reading proficiency in fourth grade as measured by the state’s proficiency tests.