Building Capacity to Implement an ECIDS: Leadership Staffing

Over the last decade, significant investments of federal, state, and philanthropic funds have helped some states develop Early Childhood Integrated Data Systems (ECIDS). State leaders continue to ask questions about the capacity needed to implement an ECIDS and sustain it over the long term. To address these concerns, ECDataWorks conducted a national study of state capacity to implement an ECIDS. This series of briefs is designed for state leaders to make informed resource decisions necessary to build the capacity to implement and sustain an ECIDS. Staffing ECIDS leadership roles (ECIDS Lead, IT Lead, and Research or Analytics Lead) are critical to successful implementation of an ECIDS, yet states struggle to secure people in these positions with relevant expertise. A second challenge states face is retaining leaders long enough to see through the ECIDS implementation. Data from this study provide relevant information for state leaders about the staffing model considerations to account for when securing resources to implement an ECIDS, that avoids staffing and funding scenarios that may lead to staff turnover or an incomplete ECIDS.