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State Early Childhood Policies: Highlights from the Improving the Odds for Young Children Project (PDF)
By Jane Knitzer, Helene Stebbins
June 2007

Summary: This report presents highlights from the Improving the Odds for Young Children project. Good health, positive early learning experiences, and nurturing families are all necessary to support positive early childhood development. Improving the Odds for Young Children uses this three-part framework to identify key policy steps that States can take to improve the odds for children’s early success in school and in life. Findings show that 80 percent of States provide access to public health insurance for young children in low-income families, but many children who are eligible for Medicaid are not receiving dental and health screenings. Access to state-funded prekindergarten is growing, but access to high-quality child care is still inadequate, and State child care licensing requirements are not promoting nurturing, high-quality care. State efforts to promote family economic security are uneven. While more than half the States address the inadequacy of the minimum wage, less than half exempt a family of three from personal income tax when family income is below the Federal poverty level. Four recommendations can guide policy-makers, advocates, and researchers in future efforts to improve the odds of success for children: (1) make policy choices that focus on the whole child, (2) combine early childhood investments with investments in family economic security, (3) increase access to critical supports and services, and (4) invest in infants and toddlers.

Index Terms: Accessibility, Early Childhood Education, Health, Health Insurance, Licensing Requirements, Low Income Families, Poverty, Prekindergarten, Quality Of Child Care, Young Children, Early Childhood Intervention, Guidelines, Outcomes, Improving the Odds for Young Children Project, Medicaid, States, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Publisher: National Center for Children in Poverty

Publication Type: Reports (Descriptive)

Pages: 27 pages
Language: English
URL: http://www.nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_725.pdf

Availability
National Center for Children in Poverty
215 W. 125th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, New York 10027
646-284-9600
FAX: 646-284-9623
info@nccp.org
http://www.nccp.org/

 
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