This project allowed the Maryland State Department of Education to accomplish two objectives:Enhance, merge and expand existing databases on early childhood education and care. Use those databases to understand the effects of the child care subsidy program on children's school readiness at kindergarten entry in Maryland.

The first part of the project involved integrating existing state databases, including those of the child care subsidy program, licensing and credentialing programs, and the Maryland Model for School Readiness kindergarten assessment data as outcome measures. It also included negotiating to gain access to relevant additional databases, including those of the Resource and Referral agencies, Head Start organizations, public pre-K, etc. This was done under the advisement of a Research Advisory Group, composed of state staff, university and research partners, out-of-state advisors, and representatives of local provider groups.

In the second part of the project, as a result of the increased capability to study the connections between child care subsidies, licensing compliance, credentialing and accreditation, and school readiness, analysis of the merged data addressed such questions as:How are parents of four year old children using child care subsidies? Is there a significant association between child care subsidies and children’s school readiness upon entering kindergarten? What is the availability of child care providers accepting subsidies in the state of Maryland? What are the associations between child care subsidies, type of child care arrangement used, and children’s kindergarten readiness scores?