The Early Childhood Alliance of Onondaga County (ECA)
PROJECT: Evaluation of Funding Trends & Parent Engagement Initiatives
/ CHALLENGE
The ECA needed to better understand local trends in early childhood funding and wanted to evaluate the structure and effectiveness of its Parent Advisory Council (PAC).
/ SOLUTION
A&O completed two separate inquiries: a study of funding levels using surveys, interviews, and budget analysis and a literature review of state and local funding trends; and an evaluation of the PAC’s function, impact, and perceived value, including bench-marking against national models.
“A&O’s findings helped inform ECA’s advocacy, provided a baseline for monitoring future growth and sharpened our parent engagement strategy moving forward.”
/ OUTCOME
The research revealed an 8% funding decrease from 2019–2021 and led to concrete recommendations to address resource needs and to improve family engagement in ECA planning and advocacy efforts.