The Early Childhood and Community Research and Development Initiative is a collaborative research initiative focused on strengthening the systems that support young children, families, educators, and communities. Established in 2007, ECRDI brings together scholars and partners across disciplines to study how programs, policies, partnerships, and leadership structures promote continuity, access, quality, and equity across early childhood and early elementary systems. Our work uses applied, policy-relevant, and design-oriented research to generate findings, tools, and resources that inform decision-making by educators, administrators, community leaders, policymakers, and state agencies. Through research, development, training, and collaboration, ECRDI helps translate evidence into practical strategies for improving the systems that serve children and families.
Early Childhood and Community Research and Development Initiative (ECRDI)
Who We Are
Advancing Kentucky
ECRDI advances Kentucky by conducting research that supports stronger, more coordinated systems for young children and families. Our work has examined early childhood transitions, public preschool workforce conditions, tele-intervention services, environmental and geographic factors affecting infants and toddlers with disabilities, and the design of tools that help agencies and programs assess and improve their practices. This research provides Kentucky leaders with evidence that can inform policy decisions, guide program improvement, and strengthen services across education, health, disability, and community systems.
ECRDI also advances the Commonwealth by preparing and connecting scholars, practitioners, and policy leaders who are committed to improving outcomes for children and families. Through the Leadership for Early Childhood and Family Policy initiative, postdoctoral training, and interdisciplinary collaborations across the University of Kentucky and partner institutions, ECRDI builds capacity for research-informed leadership in early childhood and family policy.
Our Team
ECRDI is a collaborative network of faculty, researchers, postdoctoral scholars, doctoral students, and community partners whose work centers on early childhood systems, leadership, policy, disability, family supports, measurement, design, and community-based research. The team brings together expertise from educational leadership, early childhood special education, counseling, public health, kinesiology, information technology, geospatial analysis, design thinking, and human development to address complex issues affecting young children and families.
Team Members
- Beth Rous, Founder and Director
- Jaime Grove, University of Kentucky
- Sheerah Neal Keith, University of Kentucky
- John Nash, University of Kentucky
- Isaiah Moore, Postdoctoral Scholar
Current Research
Transition and Continuity Across the Early Years
ECRDI develops research-based tools, studies, and guidance to support children, families, educators, and agencies as children move across early childhood settings, from early intervention to preschool and from preschool to kindergarten and the early elementary grades. This line of work includes national transition practice studies, interagency collaboration tools, child-focused transition resources, and guidance for strengthening alignment across programs and systems.
Early Childhood Policy, Leadership, and Systems Change
ECRDI supports policy and leadership development through the Leadership for Early Childhood and Family Policy initiative at the University of Kentucky. This work connects interdisciplinary coursework, research collaboration, leadership development, and policy engagement to strengthen systems that support children and families from birth through age eight.
National Transition Practices Survey
The National Transition Practices Survey uses repeated cross-sectional data to examine how early childhood professionals perceive the importance of transition practices over time. Survey waves conducted in 2008, 2016, and 2024 provide a rare longitudinal view of how the field understands practices related to family engagement, interagency collaboration, communication, continuity, and individualized transition supports.
Presentations and Publications
- Seven, Y., Irvin, D. W., Kothalkar, P. V., Dutta, S., Buzhardt, J. F., Rous, B., & Hansen, J. H. L. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.10.008. (2024). Capturing the quantity and location of adult wh-words in the preschool classroom using a sensing tool system. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
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Wallisch, A., Irvin, D., Kearns, W., Luo, Y., Boyd, B., & Rous, B. https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492211065705. (2022). Exploring a novel tool to measure wandering behavior in the early childhood classroom. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health.
Irvin, D. W., Huffman, M. A., Luo, Y., Rous, B., & Hansen, J. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.05.003. (2021). Capturing talk and proximity in the classroom: Advances in measuring behavioral indicators of young children’s friendship development. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
- Little, L., Keith, S. N.,Wallisch, A., Rous, B.S., Johnson, T., Howard, W. J. & Tomchek, S. (2026). Age of entry into early intervention: Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth, and other factors. The Journal of Pediatrics: Clinical Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedcp.2026.200207
- Rous, B. S., & Nash, J. B. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119399926.ch14. (2020). Visual communication as knowledge management in design thinking. In The Handbook of Applied Communication Research. Wiley.
- Rojas, J. P., Nash, J. B., & Rous, B. S. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2017.1336166. (2019). Discovering childcare providers’ coaching needs with design thinking techniques. Early Child Development and Care, 189(4), 613–624.