States are seeking alternative means to identify low-income students for supplemental funding, as many schools no longer need to verify household income to determine students' eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. Instead, states can identify students whose families participate in social service programs with income criteria at or near 200…

The Department of Health and Human Services submits this report to the House Appropriations Committee in response to the following language the House Report 116-450: (1) Impact of the Federal Poverty Guideline. -- The Committee recognizes emerging challenges in Head Start's ability to fulfill its purpose of serving low-income children and their…

Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) is currently the principal mechanism for fighting poverty and achieving social inclusion among a plethora of social policies in the European Union (EU). In GMI, education and vocational training hold a major role in fighting social exclusion and promoting social cohesion. The first part of the paper discusses the…

In the nation today, 4.6 million young adults ages 16 to 24 are out of school and unemployed. More than one-third live in poverty. For these young people, commonly referred to as opportunity youth, building skills and gaining work experience are key to upward mobility. However, they face significant barriers to entering the labor market.…

Free and reduced-price lunch status has long been used as a proxy measure for student poverty. This brief offers a short history of school lunch and its recent decline as a measure of economic disadvantage. It then provides a primer on "direct certification," the most promising alternative, which links student enrollment with public…

Urie Bronfenbrenner is almost certainly best known for his theoretical writings about the ecology of human development. His interest in theory was not, however, separate from his practical concerns, particularly those related to early education and care of children and the families and teachers who interact with them. From the role that he played…

Among all children under 18 years in the United States, 38 percent live in low-income families and 17 percent--approximately one in five--are poor. This means that children are overrepresented among the nation's poor; they represent 23 percent of the population but comprise 32 percent of all people in poverty. Many more children live in families…

Nutrition is vitally important both during pregnancy and during a child's early years. Inadequate nutrition during this critical period can harm children's health and developmental outcomes throughout childhood and into adulthood. Thus, write Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach and Betsy Thorn, it's particularly important that young children have adequate…

New Mexico is home to nearly 70,000 infants and toddlers. New Mexico families are the state's strongest asset, yet current policies aren't meeting their needs. Children's growth and development are shaped by early life experiences. Good health, secure and stable families, and positive early learning environments foster children's physical,…

In 2012, the United States Department of Education announced the Race to the Top-District grants. One joint award was made to two large educational cooperatives in the same state that together represented 111 mostly rural schools in 22 districts. One of the grant's identified four essential projects was the implementation of personalized learning.…

The early experiences of babies and young children have a profound, lasting impact on the rest of their lives. Too many low-income children today are entering kindergarten so far behind that they can never catch up. High-quality childcare, which helps the country's youngest, most disadvantaged children get a good start while enabling their parents…

This document includes seven technical appendices that accompany the main report, "Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program: Round 4 Early Outcomes Study Report." The appendices include: (1) Baseline Data; (2) Follow-up Survey Data; (3) Unemployment Insurance Wage Data; (4) Service Impacts; (5)…

This report introduces the MyGoals for Employment Success demonstration. MyGoals is an employment coaching program that helps participants set and achieve goals. It seeks to do so by explicitly focusing attention on participants' executive skills. MyGoals also offers participants a set of financial incentives to encourage, facilitate, and reward…

The original purpose of the Title I program of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965" was to provide supplementary services to assist low-achieving students in high-poverty schools, and schools were required to target Title I funds specifically to serve such students. In 1978, the schoolwide program (SWP) option was…

Nearly four million U.S. undergraduate college students are parents or guardians of children under the age of 18. These student parents, who already faced immense financial, child care, food, and housing insecurity before the COVID-19 pandemic, are now dealing with multiple new barriers, including school closures, lay-offs, and child care…