Public Policy Archives - Page 2 of 16

Meeting (and Teaching) Families in Unexpected Places Can Transform Cities

Grocery stores, bus stops, laundromats… what’s next?

Mark Swartz·Jun 25, 2019·5 min read

School is a great place to learn, but it’s not the only place. No matter how excellent our teachers are, no matter how enriching the curricula, school accounts for only about 20 percent of children’s waking hours. That’s why a growing number of education pioneers are building out nontraditional sites for young minds to develop their language skills and to learn about their world.

Transforming Parent-Child Connections in Incarceration

K.C. Compton·Jun 27, 2019·6 min read

Trauma, chaos and unrelenting stress can overwhelm anyone’s ability to nurture. For incarcerated parents, these hardships often have been a...

Rep Deb Haaland and Sen Elizabeth Warren

Warren and Haaland Introduce Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act

What Will It Do?

Tom Kertscher·Jul 8, 2019·3 min read

A universal child care plan rolled out by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, one of the roughly two dozen...

A baby held by a woman, smiling and waving

Winners Announced for PCI’s First Prenatal-to-Age-Three Grant Competition

Gerry Cobb·Jul 10, 2019·3 min read

When the Pritzker Children’s Initiative (PCI) launched a first-of-its-kind Prenatal-to-Age Three State Grant Competition late last year, 42 of 45...

A grandmother in a wheelchair holding her grandchild

Paid Family Leave Gains Momentum for the Sandwich Generation: Those Caring for Young Children and Aging Parents

Tom Kertscher·Jul 25, 2019·5 min read

Paid family leave — to care for new children or aging relatives, or to recover from a serious health problem...

5 Questions for the Mayor: Rochester’s Lovely Warren

Linda Shockley·Jul 31, 2019·2 min read

Where do you go for the top news in Early Learning at the municipal level? Check out “5 Questions for the Mayor,” where we’ll explore the top Early Learning challenges and successes in cities across the nation. We’re thrilled to partner with the National League of Cities on this new series.

EPA Makes Way for Agricultural Use of Chlorpyrifos, Despite Links to Health Issues in Children

Tom Kertscher·Aug 1, 2019·3 min read

The Trump administration has rejected a proposed ban on a pesticide used for generations that repeatedly has been linked with,...

Beth Duda reads to an adorable toddler in a laundromat

Mobilizing Communities So All Children Make the Grade

Pop Up Neighbor events, community, collaboration, mobilization

K.C. Compton·Aug 8, 2019·9 min read

Even without advance promotion, when word got out that the SuperMatt Laundromat in Sarasota, Florida, was offering free laundry all day, neighborhood residents formed a steady stream of customers. Not only was laundry-and-all-the-fixings free—a boon to low-income families who can ill afford the $35 to $50 a week they spend trying to keep their kids in clean clothes—the food bank was there with abundant food to restock their pantries. Best of all, there were books—lots of books—and plenty of volunteers to read to children while the adults did as many loads of laundry as needed. When the children left, books went home with them.

A group of Central American migrants is questioned about their children's health after surrendering to U.S. Border Patrol Agents south of the U.S.-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, U.S., March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

Beyond the Headlines: Separation and Detention of Immigrant Children

Mark Swartz·Aug 12, 2019·4 min read

The 24/7 news cycle tends to push certain crises at us for a day or two before other breaking stories come along to replace them. Of course, the human beings caught up in these tragedies don’t have the luxury of moving on. In the case of the forced separation of immigrant children from their families, young victims continue to face severe adversity.

The Consequences of Forced Separation

When Traumatized Children Return to Traumatized Parents

Linda Shockley·Aug 12, 2019·8 min read

Science tells us that an outpouring of stress hormones shapes the way the brain develops. Trauma affects behavior, brain development, even the immune system. It’s devastating for all, but for newborns and youngest children, the impact can be profound.

School nutrition programs can be an important part of social and emotional learning

Brandon Stratford and Michael Bradley·Aug 15, 2019·2 min read

Schools increasingly recognize the importance of addressing the needs of the whole child, including a focus on social and emotional learning (SEL). And...