Not By Chance discusses children's programs and services along with these elements of the infrastructure. It posits an admittedly immodest vision for how America might proceed, recognizing that conventional thinking and strategies cannot evoke the kinds of reforms that are necessary to redress the decades of neglect that characterize American early care and education. As such, it does not offer a prescription for legislation for the 105th or 106th Congress, though some of the elements may be quite amenable to immediate legislative action. Not By Chance not only suggests new ways of delivering services to young children, but also entirely new ways of thinking about youngsters and the programs they receive. Specifically, Not By Chance offers eight key recommendations and suggests that in order for significant change to occur, work on each must ensue.
More detailed strategies accompany each recommendation.
The strategies point a clear direction and provide a cohesive set of actionable items as locales, states, and the nation consider the development of an early care and education system, fully recognizing that states and communities will need to tailor the suggested strategies to meet their unique needs. The consultant-partners provided intellectual leadership and strategic guidance, helping to frame the work of their component. This analytic work was conducted from 1992-1994, roughly. The synthetic phase, roughly 1994-95, focused on the integration of information both within and across components. Building on synthesis papers that were prepared for each component, Quality 2000 staff, with assistance from the consultant-partners, integrated the information across all eight components into a draft vision for a quality early care and education system.