Despite the relative increase in early care and education (ECE) investment over recent decades, access to infant and toddler care continues to be a hurdle for countless families across the nation. While access is a multifaceted issue, main contributors include a lack of available slots and the high cost of providing care to infants and toddlers.…

This article theorizes the wait list as an underexamined vehicle of administrative burden. Wait lists are now common within the U.S. social safety net, yet little research has considered their administration. Drawing on a surprising case of Massachusetts' declining wait list for subsidized childcare, I find that administrative burdens were…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the care crisis in the United States to the fore. Unprecedented closures of child care programs throughout 2020 placed a disproportionate burden on families, and mothers in particular. For parents enrolled in college or considering postsecondary enrollment at the time of the pandemic, the loss of child care services…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal relief funding flowed into the Massachusetts early education and care sector to stabilize providers and preserve affordable access to education and care for families. In the years since, the Massachusetts state government has maintained this heightened level of investment, resulting in significant progress in…

Emerging research indicates an immense burden on children and families related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with early childhood service providers (n=19) to demonstrate the pandemic's impact on families with very young children and early childhood services in two high-need…

By April 15, 20 states had ordered child care centers to close in the wake of COVID-19, with exceptions for programs serving the children of essential workers such as health care professionals. Other states modified regulations, with some reducing class sizes to 10 or fewer. Especially for struggling providers, the emergency presents real…

This study investigated associations between child care participation and socioemotional and language development of children born to adolescent mothers. Participants were 704 mothers and their children (mean age = 24 months) enrolled in a randomized controlled-trial evaluation of a voluntary statewide home visiting program for first-time young…

Background & Context: Early childhood contexts characterized by high-quality adult-child interactions have important consequences for children's development (Hamre, 2014; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001). The use of classroom observation tools to measure the quality of such interactions in early education and care (EEC) settings has become…

Structural inequities influence young parents' access to health care, housing, transportation, social support, education, and income. The current study adds to the extant literature by providing data directly obtained in collaboration with young parents to understand how structural violence affects the health and well-being of their families,…

While U.S. voters delivered a significant change in the 2024 federal elections, they opted for steady leadership at the state level. No state board of education shifted in partisan control, and only five seats saw a shift in political party out of 27 races that were contested in the general election. This policy update looks at the results of…

The economic fallout of the layoffs and business closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc for New England workers--especially those who were already facing a structurally vulnerable workforce and employment system before the pandemic. What can state governments do to stimulate job creation and make New England's economy more…

Commonly regulated structural quality features, like educator education levels and group size, are thought to be foundational to the quality of children's everyday experiences in early education and care settings. Yet little is known about how these features relate to the day-to-day interactions and activities that occur in these settings--or…

Children learning two languages (Dual Language Learners; DLLs) represent a rapidly growing population in the United States. DLLs are disproportionately more likely to live in families of low socioeconomic status (SES), which places many of them at risk for poor dual-language outcomes. To date, most studies on SES and dual language development have…

This report summarizes findings from a review of Massachusetts' child care subsidy eligibility policies and implementation practices. The review included interviews and focus groups with approximately 60 experts and stakeholders with a broad range of perspectives on the system. It identifies several important issues that, if addressed, could…

A barrier that students and mid-career professionals often face in attempts to advance their education level is that the coursework completed and credits earned in one institution of higher education (IHE) may not transfer to another. To address this issue, states have developed a variety of articulation policies and agreements to facilitate the…