New York State Profile of Young Children in Deep Poverty

Learn about our Improving the Odds for Young Children project. Young children in families experiencing deep poverty – those with incomes below 50 percent of the federal poverty line — are likely to experience severe early adversities that contribute to poor health and education outcomes. This brief offers information about young children, age birth to […]

Helping Young Children Who Have Experienced Trauma: Policies and Strategies for Early Care and Education

Learn about our Supporting Young Children’s Mental Health project. In almost every early care and education (ECE) program across the country, there are children who have experienced trauma or who will, during their early childhood, experience traumatic events. Trauma in early childhood takes many forms, including abuse or neglect, witnessing violence, and having prolonged separation […]

Using Medicaid to Help Young Children and Parents Access Mental Health Services: Results of a 50-State Survey (Updated March 2017)

Learn about our Supporting Young Children’s Mental Health project. As states work to strengthen supports for young children’s mental health, often with the goal of reducing the incidence of costly conditions at later ages, they face the question of how to finance new or expanded services. This brief examines states’ use of Medicaid as a […]

Preschool Inclusion: Key Findings from Research and Implications for Policy

Learn about our Research Connections project. An estimated 745,336 children age 3 to 5 have disabilities or developmental delays that entitle them to receive preschool special education services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (U.S. Department of Education, 2015). Federal policy directs school districts to provide preschool special education services […]

Young Children in Deep Poverty

Learn about our Improving the Odds for Young Children project. A U.S. family of three living in deep poverty survives on an annual income below $9,276. The struggle to raise children on such a meager income is not a rare circumstance among U.S. families, especially those with young children. Currently, 11 percent of young children […]

Supporting Parent Engagement in Linguistically Diverse Families to Promote Young Children’s Learning: Implications for Early Care and Education Policy

Learn about our Research Connections project. There is wide agreement that early care and education programs should support parent engagement linked to early learning for all families, including families from diverse language and cultural backgrounds. This brief highlights research that can inform policies to expand the capacity of early care and education programs to promote […]

State Policies through a Two-Generation Lens: Strengthening the Collective Impact of Policies that Affect the Life Course of Young Children and their Parents

Learn about our Improving the Odds for Young Children project. This is an excerpt from the full brief. Two-generation approaches to promoting the healthy development and school success of young children aim to enhance the well-being and life opportunities of both parents and children. This approach is based on research that shows how conditions affecting […]

Investing in Young Children: A Fact Sheet on Early Care and Education Participation, Access, and Quality

Learn about our Improving the Odds for Young Children project. High quality early care and education can play a critical role in promoting young children’s early learning and success in life, while also supporting families’ economic security. Young children at highest risk of educational failure – those experiencing poverty and related circumstances that may limit […]

Parent Engagement from Preschool through Grade 3: A Guide for Policymakers

Learn about our Expanding Opportunities for Parent Engagement project. Parent engagement in children’s education is increasingly viewed as an essential support to children’s learning in early care and education programs and throughout the school years. While there are many definitions of “parent engagement,” the term is used here to describe parents’ efforts to promote their […]

Young Children at Risk: National and State Prevalence of Risk Factors

Learn about our Improving the Odds for Young Children project. Introduction Across the U.S., large numbers of young children are affected by one or more risk factors that have been linked to academic failure and poor health. Chief among them is family economic hardship, which is consistently associated with negative outcomes in these two domains. […]