While policymakers have demonstrated considerable enthusiasm for "science of reading" initiatives, the evidence on the impact of related reforms when implemented at scale is limited. In this pre-registered, quasi-experimental study, we examine California's recent initiative to improve early literacy across the state's lowest-performing…

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…

Earning a college degree has long been critical to unlocking many high-paying jobs -- and, as a result, to economic mobility and security. Increasingly, however, the traditional "norm" of a college student--one who enrolls straight out of high school, receives some support from their parents, lives on campus, and does not have…

Early care and education providers are subject to monitoring by multiple agencies and organizations. In this brief provides an overview of monitoring and the major early care and education monitoring systems. It then offers possible goals for a coordinated monitoring system and describes some approaches to addressing those goals. Eleven dimensions…

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education that was held to discuss the effectiveness of early childhood education programs. During the hearing, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified on their new report which finds the federal government provides…

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.…

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) reauthorized the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant and made modifications expected to strengthen work requirements for families receiving cash assistance through state TANF programs. Both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and states were required to take steps to…

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…

Amid a recession that's squeezing state budgets and pushing more families into poverty, teams of officials from 39 states gathered near Washington last week to explore ways to better meet the educational and health needs of young children. The Sept. 16-18 meeting, sponsored by the National Governors Association, came as the U.S. House of…

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…

This publication describes how and when it is permissible to use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds for youth-related activities and services. It provides illustrations of how TANF funds are being spent on youth. The TANF block grant replaces Aid to Families with Dependent Children. The funds that states spend in order to draw…

Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981 consolidated 29 federally funded categorical programs into an education block grant available to all state education agencies and, through them, to school districts. Chapter 2's legislative purpose was to transfer authority and responsibility to state and local education…

This hearing was held to discuss issues related to the reauthorization of Project Head Start and the dependent care programs. Witnesses expressed the current administration's support for a 3-year reauthorization of Head Start, discussed the impact of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation, and described the Department of Health and Human Services'…

This paper reports on an evaluation of implementation strategies of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA), Chapter 2 in New York State. It documents the origin of the state plan and how New York State education agencies coordinated their efforts to distribute ECIA local assistance and competitive grant monies to school districts…