Children experience the most rapid rate of development during the first three years of life. It is well understood that high-quality learning experiences that begin early in life can promote young children's development and help reduce achievement gaps. The purpose of this literature review is to review the research on supporting access to quality…

Eleven million children younger than age five are in some form of child care in the United States. The "Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2015 Report" summarizes the cost of child care across the country, examines the importance of child care as a workforce support and as an early learning program, and explores the effect of high…

Homelessness is a reality for many families with young children in the United States. Homeless children and youths lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. In 2017, about a third of all people who stayed in a shelter were families with children, and nearly half of children served by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

In January 2016, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the first 50-state profile on Early Childhood Homelessness as part of an interagency collaboration with multiple departments and agencies participating on the early childhood workgroup of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). This report updates ED's…

Our country's existing and long-term child care crisis--inequitable access for communities of color, poverty-level wages for early educators, and unaffordable care for far too many families--has been exacerbated by the terrible, inequitable impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the child care and early learning sector to the brink…

Quality child care enables parents to work or go to school while also providing young children with the early childhood education experiences needed for healthy development. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary federal program that provides funding for child care assistance for low-income working parents. Child care…

In this article, Ajay Chaudry and Heather Sandstrom review research on child care and early education for children under age three. They describe the array of early care and education arrangements families use for infants and toddlers; how these patterns have changed in recent decades; and differences by family socioeconomic status, race, and…

Child care subsidies help make quality child care affordable for low-income parents, allowing them to attend work or school to support their families while ensuring their children's healthy development. Access to quality child care is also proven to strengthen families' economic security. The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the…

This policy statement from the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED) provides recommendations to early childhood systems and programs on family engagement. Family engagement refers to the systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote children's development, learning, and wellness,…

This document consists of the 1995 issues of the Child Care Bulletin, a bimonthly publication of the National Child Care Information Center. The January-February issue focuses on child health and safety. Topics discussed include promoting health and safety in child care, and the earned income tax credit. The March-April issue focuses on school-age…