ANDERSON, ET AL, CHAPIN HALL

A growing body of evidence shows that families do better when they have access to concrete services and have economic stability. This makes providing economic and concrete supports an important component of preventing child abuse and neglect and reducing involvement with child welfare. Since families of color are disproportionately affected by poverty, these supports can serve as a strategy to reduce racial disproportionality in child welfare systems.

Chapin Hall experts have brought together evidence about the connections between economic and concrete supports and involvement with child welfare. A brief that summarizes some of this research, System Transformation to Support Child and Family Well-being, is available here. The most comprehensive collection of this research is in the presentation developed by Clare Anderson, Yasmin Grewal-Kök, Dr. Gretchen Cusick, Dr. Dana Weiner and Dr. Krista Thomas. Download it and other resources below:

These findings indicate that we can promote child and family well-being through state and federal policies that strengthen families, promote family economic security, and reduce child protective services involvement in the lives of families. Examples of state policy changes doing just this can be found in the presentation linked above.

To work with us on applying this evidence at your agency or in your jurisdiction, contact Clare Anderson. Learn more about Chapin Hall’s approach to this work.

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NATIONAL COLLABORATIVE FOR INFANTS & TODDLERS

ReadyNation’s updated study finds that the nation’s infant-toddler child care crisis now costs $122 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue every year. This staggering economic toll impacts working parents, their employers, and the nation’s taxpayers. Our 2018 study found that the crisis was already severely damaging the pre-pandemic economy, exacting a cost of $57 billion annually. A combination of COVID-19 and insufficient policy action have now significantly worsened the crisis.

Productivity challenges affect both employers and employees. Almost two-thirds of parents of infants and toddlers facing child care struggles reported being late for work or leaving work early, and more than half reported being distracted at work or missing full days of work. An overwhelming 85 percent of primary caregivers said problems with child care hurt their efforts or time commitment at work. These challenges had predictable impacts: more than one quarter of caregivers said they’ve been reprimanded at work, and nearly one quarter have been fired. As a result, families lose $78 billion per year in forgone earnings and job search expenses. Meanwhile, productivity problems cause employers to lose $23 billion annually due to child care challenges faced by their workforce. Taxpayers, in turn, lose $21 billion each year in lower federal and state/local tax revenue.

Beyond its impact on the workforce and economy today, the infant-toddler child care crisis damages the future workforce by depriving children of nurturing, stimulating environments that support healthy brain development while their parents work. Almost three-quarters of working parents reported that access to child care is a challenge. And more than half said it is a significant challenge to find child care that is either affordable or high quality. As our data from the past four years shows, a failure to strengthen the country’s fragile child care infrastructure will lead to more and more economic damage to employers, workers, and taxpayers. Federal and state policymakers must support evidence-based policies and programs that enhance the availability and affordability of high-quality child care. With wise investments, policymakers can improve life outcomes for millions of children today and strengthen the workforce and economy both now and in the years to come.

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THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION

Chil­dren, who made up 40% of America’s total pop­u­la­tion in 1900 and 36% of it as recent­ly as 1960, account­ed for just 22% of the country’s total pop­u­la­tion in 2020, an all-time low, accord­ing to an analy­sis authored by experts on child demog­ra­phy and released today by the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion. The report — The Chang­ing Child Pop­u­la­tion of the Unit­ed States: First Data From the 2020 Cen­sus — also shows the num­ber of chil­dren of col­or grew from 2010 in 46 states and the Dis­trict of Columbia.

The report from the Casey Foun­da­tion — a Bal­ti­more-based nation­al phil­an­thropy focused on the well-being of young peo­ple — is based on data from the 2020 cen­sus and exam­ines shifts in the num­ber, char­ac­ter­is­tics by race and His­pan­ic ori­gin and loca­tion of children:

• At 73.1 mil­lion, the num­ber of chil­dren record­ed in 2020 was 1.1 mil­lion few­er than in 2010 (74.2 mil­lion), the first absolute drop in the num­ber of kids decade-to-decade since the Great Depression.
• The over­all child pop­u­la­tion increased in 23 states and the Dis­trict of Colum­bia but declined in 27 states and Puer­to Rico, with the biggest per­cent­age drop record­ed in New Hamp­shire (11%) and the high­est-growth state, North Dako­ta, see­ing a 22% increase. Texas saw the largest absolute gain and Cal­i­for­nia the largest absolute loss.
• Chil­dren of col­or account­ed for all the growth in the child pop­u­la­tion between 2010 and 2020, with their pop­u­la­tion ris­ing from 34.5 mil­lion to 38.5 mil­lion. Non-His­pan­ic white chil­dren made up less than half of all chil­dren (47.3%) in 2020 but remained the largest racial and eth­nic pop­u­la­tion group among chil­dren (34.6 million).

These shifts also under­score the urgent need for bet­ter data, accord­ing to the Casey Foun­da­tion. The 2020 cen­sus under­count­ed young chil­dren at the worst rate since 1950.

DOWN­LOAD THE REPORT

Photo Credit - The Annie E. Casey Foundation

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PRENATAL TO 3 POLICY

Access to community-based doulas promotes healthier and more equitable infant birth outcomes, maternal and child health, and nurturing and responsive parenting.

Community-based doulas are nonmedical, unlicensed, trained professionals who provide emotional, physical, and informational support to birthing people. They offer support during pregnancy through the postpartum period, from 6 weeks to 12. Community-based doulas differ from lay doulas and other birth doulas because they are specifically trained for culturally sensitive care and focus on birthing people who are more likely to experience discrimination and racism in traditional healthcare settings. Additionally, community-based doulas are more likely to be people of color and often have shared experiences with their patients.

Access to community-based doulas is proven to help address parental wellness, child-parent relationships, and child health and development. Positive outcomes include increased attendance at medical appointments and childbirth education classes, increased breastfeeding initiation, decreased rates of preterm birth and low-birth weights, and improved overall parenting practices.

The non-clinical care provided by community-based doulas can have a positive impact on expectant mothers—the emotional, physical, and informational support from a doula can empower them to navigate a complicated medical system and advocate effectively for their needs. The evidence is clear that, as a member of a comprehensive system of maternal care, a community-based doula is effective at improving outcomes.

Download the 2-page summary

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GONZALEZ, FIRST THINGS FIRST

This year, kindergarten teacher Christina Walker noticed a difference in her young students right away.

Many of them were missing basic social-emotional skills for kindergarten readiness, such as knowing how to cope with challenges.

“They’ll just break down and start crying, instead of asking for help or doing it a different way,” said Walker, who teaches at Winters Well Elementary School in Tonopah, a community on the western edge of Maricopa County. “I have some that are crying because they don’t get it right, or they break down, frustrated because it’s too hard for them. It’s taking us longer to get to where they need to be.”

When school starts, it’s not surprising that some of the children miss their parents. Walker said separation anxiety is impacting the classroom more and more.

“We get more of those now,” Walker said. “At the beginning of this year, so many were crying for their mom and dad. We can’t teach or do anything with that because they shut down. You have to wait them out.”

The children entering kindergarten and preschool this year are sometimes referred to as COVID babies. Many of these young children spent their early years in isolation at home with their families, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, well-child visits were missed and with that, sensory and developmental screenings to identify potential delays were also often missed.

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CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL POLICY

What We Work For

We are working to build a nationwide network of Early Learning Communities where young children and their families get the support they need to thrive.

In many communities in the US, there is weak coordination and few linkages between services that children and their families need. Even when high-quality programs and services are available, families do not have the support or resources to access or make use of them successfully.

Early Learning Nation recognizes the need for building coordinated, supportive systems in the early childhood sphere to ensure that all families get the support they need to promote healthy child development.

How We Do It

We work with communities that are committed to becoming Early Learning Communities (ELCs)—places where young children and their families can access everything they need to thrive.

We work directly with stakeholders to connect the dots between sectors and create a unified system of support and provide materials and coaching to help them implement innovative strategies related to each of the Building Blocks for ELCs. These Building Blocks aim to expand leaders’ thinking beyond early childhood programs and services to consider neighborhood conditions and the policies that affect families.

We support a network of ELCs that work to achieve equitable results for children and their families, building their strategies according to local needs, resources, and priorities. Our shared focus is always on equity, family partnerships, and improved outcomes for children.

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