Child care plays a vital role in our nation's economy. COVID-19 has largely shut down child care programs and schools across the nation, presenting challenges for working parents. Child care closures are a particularly acute problem for frontline and essential workers--health care personnel, grocery store staff, postal and delivery service…

The "Colorado Children's Budget 2012" provided detailed information on appropriations and sources of financing for programs that help children across four domains: early childhood development and learning, health, education, and support services. This report dives deeper into one of the issues that surfaced in that report. The…

There is growing unease about suspension and expulsion of children at the preschool level. Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Boys--particularly African-American boys--comprise a disproportionate number of these cases, a fact that has caused concern among parents, policymakers, and advocates alike.…

State child care policies can promote the quality and continuity of early childhood experiences and foster the healthy growth and development of babies and toddlers in all child care settings, especially if they are informed by research. The quality of the relationship between children and those who care for them influences every aspect of young…

State child care policies--including licensing, subsidy, and quality enhancement strategies--can promote the quality and continuity of early childhood experiences and foster the healthy growth and development of babies and toddlers in child care settings, especially if they are informed by research. One of the policy levers states may use to…

School districts are central players in the child care delivery system: they operate a mix of child care centers and programs, serve a range of children of different ages, and fund their programs from a variety of federal, state, and local sources. This report provides a range of programmatic and fiscal information about the federal and state…

Testimony in this congressional hearing focused on the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the major cause of death in infants over 1 month of age in the United States. Three panels of witnesses, comprised of concerned parents, academicians, and national and regional officers of service organizations, (1) provide an overview of the research and…

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant has great potential for funding out-of-school time and community school initiatives. While the flexibility that states have in allocating TANF funds presents significant opportunity for innovation, it also presents a dizzying array of policy options. This strategy brief presents…

The Chapter 2 program, originally authorized as Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 and reauthorized as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1988), represents a substantial investment of Federal education funds to support general educational improvement. Funds are made available to states and local…

In response to proposed reforms designed to replace many federal child welfare programs with block grants to states, this report describes a study of recent trends foster care, resources for foster care and child welfare services, and state responses to current foster care and child welfare service needs. The study reviewed research on foster care…

This congressional report contains testimony given at an oversight hearing on the termination of the Community Services Administration (CSA) and the subsequent transition to the community services block grant program. Among those organizations and agencies represented at the hearing were the following: the National Community Action Agency; the…

Patterns of spending federal aid have shifted since Chapter 2 of the 1981 Education Consolidation and Improvement Act combined 29 existing programs into one block grant and placed the responsibility for allocating the funds with the states and local districts. Since 1982-83 Chapter 2 appropriations were 14.4 percent below funding for the…

Part I of a two-part series examines various approaches currently used by states to provide aid to local school districts, including flat grants, foundation grants, matching systems, the multitier approach, categorical aid, transportation aid, and capital outlay/debt service support systems. Related issues and special features are then discussed.…

Families undergo difficulties in trying to negotiate the labyrinth of early childhood services offered in Illinois. Because of the multiplicity of programs and scarce funding, many children and families do not receive the services they need. Coordination among programs and services is also limited. This paper offers background on how the…

This guide outlines strategies to be used by rural school districts when applying for grants in New York State. The first section addresses the impact of recent federal program reductions and restructuring that have significantly reduced overall federal spending on state education programs. Both federal and state governments are moving away from…