About the Linkages Guide

The Linkages Guide introduces policy-relevant questions in CCEE that can be used in monitoring, reporting and evaluation efforts. The Guide first lists each of the Linkages Questions then provides an overview of relevant recommended data elements and walks through in-depth data analysis recommendations to answer each question. These questions can be used to:

• Learn about the state and local context for CCEE policies and practices,
• Generate meaningful outcomes data to help state and other CCEE decision-makers monitor systemic improvement efforts such as a quality improvement initiative or supports for equitable CCEE access for families, and/or
• Address research and evaluation questions about the effectiveness of services and supports for families, children, CCEE programs and the CCEE workforce

How-to Use the Linkages Guide

The questions in this Guide are divided into topical areas. They include descriptive questions about children, families, CCEE programs and the CCEE workforce in the state or locality. Many of these questions can be used to assess patterns and trends and to identify particular needs in the CCEE system. Other questions relate specifically to initiatives in the state, such as a quality improvement initiatives or provision of supports to improve CCEE access for families, and the outcomes that result from those initiatives. The primary steps in using this document are:

1. Use the Linkages Guide to identify questions that are a priority for the state or locality.
2. Review the list of data elements in the Dictionary and compare it to data collected in the state or locality to identify which data are collected and accessible, which are not being collected, or which are being collected by another agency or organization but are not shared or accessible.
3. Develop and implement a plan to collect data elements that are not being collected that are needed to address high priority questions or reporting needs or to develop data sharing strategies in cases where data elements are not shared or accessible.
4. Perform the suggested or alternative analysis using the recommended data elements.
5. Use the results of the analysis to answer questions of interest and to help develop additional questions.