Early Learning Nation discusses the latest prenatal-to-3 state policy roadmap, with a spotlight on Ohio. | |
“The jump in child poverty from 2021 to 2022 was largely driven not by changes in economics or demographics, but by the expiration of policies enacted in the American Rescue Plan Act. In other words, increased child poverty was a policy choice. During 2021, the federal government adopted a robust set of economic supports that dramatically decreased poverty, including an expansion of the Child Tax Credit. When the Child Tax Credit expansion expired in 2022, the resulting increase in poverty was unprecedented. Never before has so much progress been made to reduce poverty only to have it evaporate after a single year.” | |
Who:
Elaine Maag, Senior Fellow, Tax Policy, Urban Institute Co-Director, Innovations in Cash Assistance for Children Initiative
Where: A statement before the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare, Ways and Means Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
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The 2021 expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit enabled children in families with very low incomes to receive the full benefits of the tax credit — $3,600 per child under age six and $3,000 per child ages 6-17. This resulted in benefits for the lowest income children matching the benefits received by their middle-income peers. The expiration of the tax credit, however, meant that the program reverted to its less generous version. Today, about 19 million children whose families have low incomes cannot receive the full credit because their families do not earn enough income. This disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic children, as well as children in rural communities. | |
President Biden has proposed a rule that would lead to increased salaries for Head Start teachers. As USA Today reports, a public comment period will open on the rule within 60 days, and then federal officials will adjust and finalize the rule. The effort comes after an April executive order that directed the Department of Health and Human Services to develop strategies for ensuring pay parity between Head Start teachers and elementary school teachers. Programs would have until 2031 to reach pay parity, and it would likely require new federal funds to prevent a loss of Head Start slots, as AP News points out. | |
The CAYL Institute and Defending the Early Years are hosting a panel on empowering parents called Powerful Parenting with Brave Conversations on Thursday, December 7. | |
A partnership forged between Virginia and Iowa in 2018 created the Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals to create training and support for home-visiting programs across the nation. Today over 34,000 home-visiting professionals use resources provided by the Institute.
A commentary in U.S. News and World Report outlines the actions that several states have taken to bolster child care in their communities. Communities in states like Idaho, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Tennessee are partnering with small businesses to support parents in the workforce with child care needs. The author notes that the business of child care and the support of small businesses in local communities are both essential factors as states address the child care crisis.
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If you read or share one thing this week to help deepen understanding of the complexities of generational trauma, let this NPR report be it: “How to break the cycle of childhood trauma? Help a baby’s parents”
The child care crisis disproportionally affects rural communities in the United States. Factors like aging demographics within communities, distance to child care centers, and a decline in family-based care all contribute to this imbalance. A report from the Bipartisan Policy Center offers a child care policy framework to support rural communities, including providing families with more choices, educating a sustainable child care workforce, building safe child care facilities, and coordinating partnerships between federal and state governments, businesses, nonprofits and philanthropic organizations. The report also outlines examples of states which have successfully implemented policies in rural areas.
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The United States has the largest population of immigrant families compared to any other country in the world. About 25% of children in the United States have at least one parent who is an immigrant. Programs like Head Start have experimented with ways to support parents and children in immigrant families. An evaluation published in Applied Developmental Science examined the impacts of a two-generational English as a Second Language (ESL) program implemented by the Community Action Project of Tulsa County in Oklahoma.
The program enrolled immigrant parents in free ESL courses with a child-centric curriculum while their children attended Head Start. The evaluation looked at 197 parent-child dyads and how the program impacted the parent’s English language, parental engagement, and well-being. The evaluation also examined the program’s effects on children’s language and cognitive skills. Findings show that the parents enrolled in the program reported higher English reading skills and engagement with their child’s teacher compared to parents not enrolled in the program. The benefits were higher for parents who began the program with lower English proficiency. The authors recommend starting a national demonstration program to show how Head Start programs could implement a two-generational approach to support English-language proficiency among both immigrant children and their parents.
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This edition written by: Jamie O'Leary and Janelle Williamson | | | | |