Smart Start North Carolina

There is some evidence that Smart Start improves school readiness, especially for disadvantaged children^{1, 2}. Additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.

Children from low income families who attend Smart Start centers realize greater gains in school readiness (e.g., cognitive, language, social, and motor skills) than peers who attend other day care centers. Children from higher income families appear to receive equal benefit from participation in Smart Start or other child care centers. Overall, children who attend Smart Start centers appear better prepared for kindergarten than children who do not participate in child care outside the home¹. Smart Start participation is also associated with improved 3rd grade test scores in reading and math³.

Through Smart Start’s health services, participating children are more likely to receive a DTP vaccination and to have a regular source of care than non-participants⁴. Smart Start participation also appears to reduce the likelihood of special education placement in 3rd grade, which is associated with significant cost savings for the state⁵.

Research suggests that Smart Start partnerships work best when communities assess their baseline needs and develop plans locally, but set goals that can be evaluated by both communities and state officials. Communities can expect a multi-year collaborative process before achieving measurable outcomes⁶. The quality of child care provided at Smart Start centers appears to improve over time, especially when on-going quality improvement efforts are used. Centers with high quality care are associated with greater improvements in children’s school readiness than centers with lower quality care⁷. 

Smart Start was created in 1993. The program currently operates in all 100 North Carolina counties through the North Carolina Partnership for Children, with the support of 75 local partnerships⁸. State legislation has authorized and supported the adoption and expansion of Smart Start over time⁹.