The early care and education (ECE) and home visiting (HV) fields both provide critical supports for young children and their families. Often, though, these fields operate in silos, with HV and ECE relying on its own unique body of research and funding. However, HV and ECE share common elements. For example, both have similar overarching goals, workforces, and professional development pathways. We believe this disconnect leads to missed opportunities to better serve families.

By strengthening the connections between HV and ECE, research and practice professionals can leverage current knowledge, expand innovation, more efficiently tackle shared challenges, and determine how—and where—research in one area may inform research in the other. By aligning efforts, ECE and HV fields can help policymakers, practitioners, and researchers more effectively address their shared challenges.

This blog series examines specific topics where HV and ECE can learn from and share lessons with each other. We hope that it sparks conversation within states, federal programs, and the research and practice communities to accelerate innovation, collaboration, and coordination.

Check out the blog posts below:

Sharing research and innovation across home visiting and early care and education can better serve families

Coaching to change adult behavior: What can home visiting and early care and education learn from each other?

Coordinated home visiting and early care and education referrals can help families get the services they need

Aligning professional development across HV and ECE will contribute to a more cohesive early childhood workforce

Supporting continuous quality improvement in programs and services for young children

Lessons from the early care and education field for home visiting data integration

Home visiting and early childhood education can benefit families by broadening their strategies for family engagement