Issues: Families with Children

Child Care and Early Education

MDRC examines the effects of early care and education on children and tests programs to enhance the quality of preschool settings through innovative strategies to promote low-income children’s social and emotional development and behavioral and academic readiness for school.

The Latest

Brief

Young Children's Resilience in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

There is a lack of consistent evidence on the extent to which the pandemic affected preschool-age children. This brief summarizes the initial results from a study led by MDRC that is examining the post-pandemic language, literacy, math, and executive functioning skills of children enrolled in Acelero Learning programs.

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Report

Coordinating Services to Support Families

How do Head Start programs coordinate family support services and are their practices aligned with each family’s needs and well-being? This report presents case studies of six programs across the country and explores service coordination from multiple perspectives—Head Start staff members, families, and local community service providers.

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Key Documents

Report

The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8

A Focus on Literacy and Math Achievement Outcomes and Social-Emotional Skills

This report reviews 95 studies on how families’ involvement in children’s learning and development through activities at home and at school affects the literacy, mathematics, and social-emotional skills of children. The review also offers recommendations for additional lines of inquiry and discusses next steps in research and practice.

Seeking Answers to Big Questions

MDRC’s Portfolio in Early Childhood Education

Today, leaders from across the political spectrum are calling for new investments in early childhood education. But many important questions remain about how to make the most of the promise of preschool and related interventions. MDRC’s portfolio of research and demonstration projects is tackling some of the biggest ones.

Counting on Early Math Skills

Preliminary Kindergarten Impacts of the Making Pre-K Count and High 5s Programs

Can children’s math skills be strengthened in pre-K and kindergarten, and can such improvements have longer-term effects? This preliminary analysis examines the cumulative effects of two early math programs and demonstrates that this enhanced experience can have modest, positive impacts on children’s math and executive function skills in kindergarten.

Research-Practice Partnership with Acelero Learning, Inc. Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Population: Families	Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce (BASE) Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Job Retention and Advancement Population: Children and Schools Populations with Low Incomes Families	Variations in Implementation of Quality Interventions (VIQI): Examining the Quality-Child Outcomes Relationship in Child Care and Early Education Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Families
Applied Behavioral Coalition (ABC) Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education High School Two-Generation Programs Corrections and Reentry Health Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Children and Schools Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment, Case Management, Career & Technical Education, Behavioral Interventions, Employment Services	Head Start Connects Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Work Support and Asset Building Population: Children and Schools Families Populations with Barriers to Employment Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Case Management	Guilford Readiness of Children for School (ROCS) Study Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Children and Schools Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: School Readiness, Case Management, Coordinated Care/Care Management, Home Visiting Locations: North Carolina
The Expanding Children’s Early Learning (ExCEL) Network Focus Area: Preschool Elementary and Middle School Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: Massachusetts	Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	MDRC Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS) Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools
The High 5s Project Focus Area: Preschool Elementary and Middle School Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms	Making Pre-K Count Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Population: Children and Schools Families Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services Locations: New York	Head Start CARES Project Focus Area: Preschool Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Population: Children and Schools Families Intervention: School Readiness, Professional Development/ Teacher Training, Classroom Services, Curricular/Instructional Reforms Locations: California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Project Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions

MDRC

Issues: Families with Children

Child Care and Early Education

Young Children's Resilience in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Coordinating Services to Support Families

The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8

Seeking Answers to Big Questions

Counting on Early Math Skills

Research-Practice Partnership with Acelero Learning, Inc.

Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce (BASE)

Variations in Implementation of Quality Interventions (VIQI): Examining the Quality-Child Outcomes Relationship in Child Care and Early Education

Applied Behavioral Coalition (ABC)

Head Start Connects

Guilford Readiness of Children for School (ROCS) Study

The Expanding Children’s Early Learning (ExCEL) Network

Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation

MDRC Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS)

The High 5s Project

Making Pre-K Count

Head Start CARES Project

Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Project

Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ

Evaluation of Child Care Subsidy Strategies

Foundations of Learning Project

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Child Care and Early Education

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