Research and Data

At OEC, we support high quality research — research that improves knowledge and understanding about early childhood services and people’s experiences. Learn how to access and explore an array of CT early childhood data resources.

Get access to published data

See OEC data and reports

Explore our Agency and Program Reports page. You can also jump directly to:

• 211 Child Care reports for data on child care in CT
• Birth to Three annual data summaries and annual performance reports
• Care 4 Kids reports on children and providers

Create a child care program roster using eLicense

• Visit the state’s eLicense website
• Choose either “Child Day Care Licensing Program” or “Youth Camp Licensing Program”
• Choose the type of information you want (open or closed), then tap Continue
• Download the roster in your preferred format (Excel, CSV, or text)

Check out these public data sources

Connecticut data

• Connecticut Open Data Portal provides OEC, SDE, DPH, and other State agency data on a wide variety of topics related to early childhood, including education
• CT Data Collaborative provides many open data sources, including resources focused on children & families and education
• The CT State Department of Education CT K-12 data portal provides detailed data about prekindergarten experiences, K-12, and higher education

National reports that include Connecticut data

• The American Community Survey reports yearly U.S. Census Bureau information on social, economic, housing, and demographic characteristics across different geographic units in the United States
• The Kids Count Data Book is published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and provides demographic, economic, education, family, health, and other data on children in the U.S. and by state
• The National Center for Children in Poverty has updated their Early Childhood State Policy Profiles, which provide a two-generation view of current policies affecting children birth to age 8, nationally and state-by-state, in the areas of early care and education, health and development, and parenting/family economic supports. Here is the CT section.

Request data (Freedom of Information Act)

Don’t see what you were looking for?

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides a way to request specific data. Check out our GovQA online FOI request form.

Understand your responsibilities as a researcher

“Data are a reflection of the lives of real people, not just a sterile abstraction.”

– John Schwabish, Ph.D.

• OEC expects that all research will be conducted with respect for the people involved, a desire to benefit others, and to promote their health and welfare. Everyone has the right to fair treatment, including confidentiality, as outlined in the Belmont Report.
• OEC believes that advancing equity is important for the health and development of all young children and those who love them.
• Learn about special protections for Research with Children
• Explore the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 45 CFR Part 46) on the federal Office for Human Research and Protections webpage
• Check with your agency, university, or hospital Institutional Review Board for additional responsibilities and considerations.

* Note that OEC’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) — which operated from 2015 to 2021 — is no longer active.

Requests to conduct research involving OEC programs or services

• CT Birth to Three System “Research” procedure for Part C early intervention service providers
• General Policy A-05 in English and Spanish for CT Administered State Funded Programs

Wanting to interview people or asking for their personal data needs to be done with great care and respect. Here are some steps for success:

1. Contact the OEC Division director of the program you are interested in. Discuss what you’d like to do, how you hope to do it, and why you think it is important for understanding and improving the lives of young children and the people who care for them.
   • Pro Tip: email a letter of introduction and ask for a brief meeting. Attach a written description of your proposal. Include your institution’s IRB approval letter.
2. If the OEC Division director is interested in your proposed project, ask them for a Letter of Support.
3. Once you have the support and approvals you need, See the Understand your responsibilities as a researcher section before you begin recruiting participants.
4. Recruitment considerations:
   • Keep in mind that people can always say, “No thanks!!” even if your research is top notch.
   • Saying Yes only applies to that “level” of approval. If the OEC Division director says “Yes”, but the program director says “No”, that’s a hard stop. If the program director says, “Yes”, then the classroom teacher says “No”, you stop. When a parent says “No”, that’s where you stop.
   • If all of the adults say “Yes” and the child’s words or behaviors show that they don’t want to talk or play or participate in the research, that’s a “NO!” and you must end the research session with that child.
5. When you have completed your research, tell us what you learned! Share key findings and results with the OEC Division Director and with the people who participated.