Child Care

Child care should provide a safe, nurturing environment that supports early childhood development. Child care allows parents to work or study, secure in the knowledge their child is well cared for. High-quality child care promotes cognitive, physical, and social-emotional growth and fosters school readiness, thereby contributing significantly to a child’s long-term success and wellbeing.

CHILD CARE QUALITY
CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES
CHILD CARE WORKFORCE

Featured Resources

texas strat plan

Early Investment, a Lifetime of Returns: Articulating the Value of Early Childhood Investments in Virginia

Our estimates indicate that 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.

Childcare

Transforming the Child Care Landscape: A Case Study of New Mexico

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center undertook an exploratory research process to both document New Mexico’s historic state actions and to develop a theory of change that connects these actions to their most likely outcomes based on existing evidence in the field.

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Research Brief: State Policy Progress on Child Care Subsidies in 2023

The 2023 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap identifies child care subsidies as one of the most effective policies at improving child and family well-being and the health of the workforce and economy. Over the past few years, many states have made enhancements to their child care subsidy systems using these policy levers.

Related Resources

2024 Prenatal-to-3 Legislative Highlights

With most legislatures adjourned for the year, we recap the 2024 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.
Colorado legislature

June Update: Prenatal-to-3 State Legislative Trends

Though most legislative sessions have adjourned, lawmakers and advocates across the country continue to advance efforts to support children and families. A lot can happen at the tail end of a legislative session, as Colorado

May Update: Prenatal-to-3 State Legislative Trends

Bipartisan momentum has advanced tax credit proposals across the country, a historic debate over Medicaid expansion continues in Mississippi, and several states made progress in the past month to provide doula services through Medicaid. By

The State Policy Implications of the New Federal Child Care Rule 

In late February, the federal government released a final rule that makes regulatory changes to the Child Care and Development Fund. The rule requires action from many states to ensure child care is affordable and

April Update: Prenatal-to-3 State Legislative Trends

Just like that, we find ourselves 3 months into the 2024 legislative sessions! In this month’s post, we cover legislative trends in five prenatal-to-3 policy areas we’re tracking across multiple states. Some efforts are near

How to Identify Rigorous Research for Evidence-Based Policymaking

State lawmakers face difficult choices about how to use scarce public resources. To ensure that investments have a big impact on young children, lawmakers often want to know—which policies actually work? The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact
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Vanderbilt University
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