State Services

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center provides a variety of services to state lawmakers, agency officials, and advocates. We are experts on the latest research and the implementation of effective state polices, and we work closely with state leaders to help them achieve their goals for child and parent wellbeing.

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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.

How We Support States

We conduct original research and rigorous evaluations of state policies and programs. Through mixed methods, we examine not only whether a policy is effective, but also for whom and under what conditions. We calculate the return on investments. Our findings help states strengthen supports for children and families.

Submit an information request today! We answer specific research questions tied to state and national prenatal-to-3 legislative activity and trends, rigorous research, and policy impacts. We craft responses within an equity framework and target our responses to a state’s needs.

Data-driven decisions help states support infants, toddlers, and their families. In our work for states, we use administrative data and collect our own data via surveys, perform data analysis and benefit-cost analyses, and advise in the creation of data dashboards.

We provide virtual and in-person presentations on a variety of topics related to legislative trends and rigorous research. We receive frequent requests for prenatal-to-3 policy overviews, as well as presentations on specific issue areas and individual states’ policy goals.

We help state leaders prioritize their policy agendas by providing evidence of what works to meet a state’s policy goals for children and families.

Our nonpartisan experts in public policy and the science of early childhood can provide testimony on the effectiveness of policies in pending legislation. We can speak to the rigorous evidence on such policies, translating complex findings into clear and simple messages.

The Latest

State Policy Lever Checklist: State Child Tax Credit

Research is clear that money matters for children’s wellbeing and achievement. Greater income allows parents to better meet children’s basic needs, and financial stability can reduce parental stress. State child tax credits (CTCs) provide one

State Child Tax Credits: A Promising Policy to Improve Child Outcomes 

Ever since the successful temporary expansion of the federal child tax credit (CTC) in 2021, state CTCs have become an increasingly common state policy to support families’ economic stability. Prior to the expansion, only 6

How States Structure Early Childhood Governance—and Why It Matters

Across the US, states take different approaches to governing early childhood programs, shaping how services are structured, how families access them, and how agencies coordinate support. Early childhood governance refers to the organization of government

Funding Mechanisms for State Paid Family and Medical Leave Programs

Learn how statewide paid family and medical leave (PFML) programs are financed through payroll contributions from workers and employers. This policy brief explores key decisions for funding PFML programs, including start-up funding, premium contributions, rate determination, and wage coverage.

Securing the Future: Examining Dedicated Sources of Funding for Child Care Subsidy Programs

Access to high-quality child care is essential for a family’s active workforce participation and children’s healthy development. Child care is not just a service—it is crucial infrastructure that supports economic stability and growth both for

State policy progress on paid family and medical leave in 2024

 Paid family and medical leave (PFML) is one of 12 evidence-based policies in our 2024 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap, which details states’ progress toward adopting and implementing policies that effectively improve child and family wellbeing.