Financial hardship in early childhood can disrupt healthy brain development and compromise the foundation for long-term development and wellbeing. Because of discrimination in employment and education as well as unequal opportunities to build wealth, Black, Hispanic, and Native American families disproportionately experience material hardship. States have several evidence-based policy options to support the economic wellbeing of families during the prenatal-to-3 period and reduce disparities by race and ethnicity, including raising the state minimum wage, implementing a refundable state earned income tax credit (EITC), and providing comprehensive paid family and medical leave.
Rigorous research finds that all three of these state policies reduce poverty, with additional benefits to family economic security and parental wellbeing. The current evidence highlights the important role states play in enacting policies to ensure families with very young children have sufficient household resources. By implementing evidence-based policies, state leaders can make significant progress toward improving outcomes for the individuals they serve.
©October 2024, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, All Rights Reserved. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University translates research on the best public investments into state policy actions that produce results for young children and society.
