Archives: Policies and Strategies

Two-generation programs for parental employment can increase access to needed services and parents’ ability to work, but evidence is mixed. Current studies do not, however,...

Strategies to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity need further study to make a conclusion about their impact on outcomes for families during the prenatal-to-3 period....

A state minimum wage of at least $10 per hour can boost earnings and family incomes with minimal or no adverse effects on employment, leaving...

A refundable state earned income tax credit of at least 10 percent of the federal credit has been shown to promote healthy births and reduce...

State policies related to the administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have a significant impact on participation rates among eligible households. The most...

A state policy providing at least 6 weeks of paid family leave to parents with a new biological, adopted, or foster child increases the likelihood...

Participation in group prenatal care increases the likelihood that mothers receive adequate prenatal care and improves mothers’ physical and emotional health. Impacts on healthy and...

Participation in evidence-based home visiting programs leads to small but positive impacts on parenting skills, but less consistent evidence exists for impacts on other important...

Participation in Early Intervention services can improve children’s cognitive, motor, behavioral, and language development, especially for infants born preterm or low birthweight, for whom the...

Early Head Start (EHS) improves numerous aspects of child-parent relationships, leaving children better off due to more nurturing and responsive relationships. Evidence for the impact...

Comprehensive screening and referral programs are an effective strategy to increase families’ connections to needed services and may promote optimal child health and development, though...

The relationship between child care workforce qualifications and outcomes in the prenatal-to-3 period has not yet been rigorously studied. Some strong causal studies have evaluated...

Increasing child care workforce compensation may support nurturing and responsive child care in safe settings, but evidence is mixed and further research is needed. Only...

Both child care subsidy receipt and greater state per child subsidy spending increase enrollment in formal child care settings and increase maternal employment and education....

More rigorous research is needed to build the evidence base on the impact that lower child-to-caregiver ratios have on children’s development, health, and safety in...

Fair work scheduling policies need further study before conclusions can be made about the impact of such policies on outcomes during the prenatal-to-3 period. Unpredictable,...

Child care quality rating and improvement systems (QRIS) need further study before conclusions can be made about their impact on outcomes during the prenatal-to-3 period....

Expanding Medicaid eligibility to include most individuals with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level increases access to needed health care services,...

To date, no strong causal evidence has connected child care coaching with positive outcomes in the prenatal-to-3 period. Coaching for teachers of infants and toddlers...