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State Services

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center provides a variety of services to state lawmakers, agency officials, and advocates. We are experts on the latest research and the implementation of effective state polices, and we work closely with state leaders to help them achieve their goals for child and parent wellbeing.

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Virginia’s investment yields substantial returns to children, families, and the state–including reduced poverty and child maltreatment, a lifetime of improved educational achievement, and hundreds of millions of dollars in state economic returns.

How We Support States

We conduct original research and rigorous evaluations of state policies and programs. Through mixed methods, we examine not only whether a policy is effective, but also for whom and under what conditions. We calculate the return on investments. Our findings help states strengthen supports for children and families.

Submit an information request today! We answer specific research questions tied to state and national prenatal-to-3 legislative activity and trends, rigorous research, and policy impacts. We craft responses within an equity framework and target our responses to a state’s needs.

Data-driven decisions help states support infants, toddlers, and their families. In our work for states, we use administrative data and collect our own data via surveys, perform data analysis and benefit-cost analyses, and advise in the creation of data dashboards.

We provide virtual and in-person presentations on a variety of topics related to legislative trends and rigorous research. We receive frequent requests for prenatal-to-3 policy overviews, as well as presentations on specific issue areas and individual states’ policy goals.

We help state leaders prioritize their policy agendas by providing evidence of what works to meet a state’s policy goals for children and families.

Our nonpartisan experts in public policy and the science of early childhood can provide testimony on the effectiveness of policies in pending legislation. We can speak to the rigorous evidence on such policies, translating complex findings into clear and simple messages.

The Latest

Photograph of a young girl smiling

New Reports Illustrate Historical Patterns of Inequity in Policy Design and Their Impact Across Generations

Tracing policy decisions from early America to today, the reports reveal how long-standing choices continue to shape access and outcomes for families  Press Contact: Sydne Lewis, 615-343-9946, sydne.lewis@vanderbilt.edu The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt
Dr. Cynthia Osborne, professor of early childhood education and policy at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and executive director of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center

Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center Executive Director Cynthia Osborne elected president-elect of APPAM

Osborne will lead the nation’s premier public policy research association, shaping its 2026 Fall Research Conference and advancing excellence in policy analysis and management Press Contact: Sydne Lewis, 615-343-9946, sydne.lewis@vanderbilt.edu Dr. Cynthia Osborne, professor of early
Child playing with toy trainset

Willing Providers, Waiting Families: Subsidized Child Care in North Texas

In North Texas, child care providers already serving subsidized families are willing to serve more; yet, thousands of families remain waitlisted. Download the brief Child care is one of the highest expenses families with young

Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center Secures $4 Million in Renewed Funding to Support Ongoing Progress in Early Childhood Development

Funding renewals from major philanthropic organizations will strengthen operations and research efforts aimed at improving outcomes for young children and families Press Contact: Sydne Lewis, 615-343-9946, sydne.lewis@vanderbilt.edu The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University’s
Group image of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center staff at the 2025 Policy Academy

Our 2025 Year In Review

A Snapshot of our Work to Strengthen Prenatal-to-3 Systems of Care Across the Country In 2025, the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center continued to support state leaders with rigorous evidence and policy analysis focused on the
Missouri State Capitol building in Jefferson City, Missouri

2025 Prenatal-to-3 Legislative Roundup

With most legislatures adjourned for the year, we recap the 2025 action on state policies to support children and families. So far this year, lawmakers throughout the country debated—and many passed—legislation that aligns with four key components of the prenatal-to-3 system of care.