North Carolina in bottom five for state services to children 3-and-under

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National analysis for resources available for children 3 years old and under has placed North Carolina among the worst five states in the nation.

The data gathering happened after lawmakers agreed to Medicaid expansion but before its enactment. This means that next year, the ranking is likely to be better as was the case for South Dakota this year.

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The ranking does not reflect individual hospitals and their performance; rather, its equation “combines a state’s minimum wage, paid family leave, out-of-pocket child care expenses, nutrition benefits, and federal and state income taxes and credits to illustrate how the minimum level of resources available to a stylized family varies across states.”

Read the full article from The Center Square

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A refundable state earned income tax credit (EITC) of at least 10 percent of the federal credit is one of 12 evidence-based policies included in our 2023 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap, which details states’ progress
Cynthia Osborne discusses the work of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, which focuses on building the evidence base for effective state policies to improve outcomes for infants, toddlers, and their families. Read the full article
Vanderbilt University’s Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center (PN-3) just issued its annual State Policy Roadmap, exploring ways that the states (and D.C.) can improve conditions so infants and toddlers can thrive. The Roadmap focuses on 12 solutions shown