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 Peabody College of Education and Human Development celebrates the most recent renewed financial support from long-standing funders. This funding, contributed by the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation reflects confidence in the Center’s role as a trusted resource for policymakers, agency officials, and advocates working to advance effective state-level policies that support healthy child development from the start.

As the costs of raising a child continue to increase, families across the US face greater difficulty accessing essential resources such as stable housing, nutritious food, quality health care, and child care. Although these challenges represent only part of the broader issues affecting child development during the prenatal-to-age-3 period, the Center remains dedicated to harnessing rigorous evidence that helps states understand these conditions and identify effective solutions.

With this renewed funding, the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center will continue to:

• Expand and refine the State Policy Roadmap, equipping state leaders with evidence-based guidance and resources to support the development and implementation of effective state policies tailored to the wellbeing of children, parents, and caregivers.
• Enhance the Policy Impact Calculator, an interactive tool that demonstrates the impact of state policy choices by providing state-to-state comparisons of a family’s total resources and highlighting substantial variations in available resources during the critical prenatal-to-age-3 period across the country.
• Leverage the Policy Clearinghouse to disseminate evidence review findings that inform state policy agendas for improved family outcomes related to at least one of the Center’s eight prenatal-to-3 policy goals.
• Partner with state leaders, decisionmakers, and advocates to ensure policy solutions are rooted in real-world conditions and community-driven data.

Through offering a comprehensive set of state services, the Center connects data and policy in ways that proactively respond to emerging health, education, and family support needs. Designed not just to inform policy decisions but to mobilize long-term systems change and sustainability, key services and supporting tools include:

• Early Childhood Governance Mapping – Landscape scans that visualize the organization of early childhood programs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia—outlining key opportunities and challenges within each state governance structure.
• Policy Research and Data Reports – Targeted research and policy briefs that make complex data accessible for a variety of audiences and translate key findings into clear insights that explain why programs do or do not work.
• Policy Academies – Expert-facilitated convenings that bring together cross-sector stakeholders such as state legislators and childhood policy advocates to explore policy opportunities and co-develop implementation strategies.
• Policy Lever Checklists – Action readiness guides offering real-time legislative updates, coverage of key policy developments, and explainers of important prenatal-to-3 topics.

Funders such as the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation have been instrumental in enabling the Center to deliver the best available research that informs policy solutions suited to help all families access vital resources. Their ongoing support fuels the Center’s ability to remain a guiding force for progress-oriented policies and investments that provide every child with an opportunity to grow up in a community where lifelong success is possible.

For more information about the Pritzker Children’s Initiative, visit https://www.pritzkerchildrensinitiative.org.

For more information about the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, visit https://klingenstein.org/esther-a-joseph-klingenstein-fund.

For more information about the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, visit https://www.wkkf.org.

About the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center 

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, at Vanderbilt University‘s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, translates research on the best public investments into state policy actions that produce results for young children and society. Our team of researchers and nonpartisan policy experts work with policymakers, practitioners, and advocates to navigate the evidence of what works, set priorities, act with confidence, and analyze results for continuous improvement. We help connect the complex social, economic, and health needs of families that support effective child development in the earliest years—seeking effective policies for each and looking at how all can work together for the greatest impact.